The night of the puss caterpillars
by maymay74
Summary: Megalopyge opercularis. A really cute marvel of nature, which in its wisdom made such a venomous creature come in a rather small package. Until man messed with nature. Now the tiny town of Micanopy is at fate's mercy. Remember, don't touch the puss, it's dangerous.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"Hurry up! Those barrels of waste won't drop by themselves." Rosalie, the statuesque blond demanded to poor James.

He was ensnared with the job of lifting, carrying and pushing those cans around, otherwise Miss Rosalie Hale would break one her nails and we didn't want something so horrendous like that to happen. No, sir. Please note the sarcasm, James thought. She was the self-appointed assistant of his father Aro Volturi, the biggest entrepreneur from Micanopy in Florida. She was as twisted as him, and never minded to break the rules if it leads to getting her way. He wasn't sure if his father had banged her or not, their relationship was always platonic, and maybe Aro saw her as the daughter he should have instead of James.

"Ugh! You're so slow James. Let me move this..." She tried to pull the lever that would release the barrels but James stopped her on time.

"If you drop them here, they will be in plain sight. Someone would notice. I found a few hollow tree trunks and we're getting them stashed there." For once that made the harpy shut up. Not even when they were kids he found her attractive. Sure, she was beautiful, but her mean personality made her repulsive in his eyes. Her ex-best friend Bella on the other hand...

James found the trunks and used the crane to lift the cans. They were small enough to drop two on each tree. After the last one was dropped, James turned to Rosalie.

"Now what?"

"Now, you forget we drop these and take that crane wherever you took it." She started to walk back. "Ever since the last fine, we can't be too careful to hide our wastes."

xx

 **Six months later...**

"Janey! I can see you! I'm so going to get you. Your place as the queen of 'hide and seek' it's gone!" Heidi was a doting mother, who loved her daughter and her husband beyond a doubt. He saw a wisp of pink flashing to the oaks and she knew she had Janey. Now how to find the way to surprise her?

Janey was doing her best to keep her giggles at bay. Her mommy was really close and she had to win this game. The oak where she was hiding was too dry and hollow. Maybe if she could get her foot right there, she could climb and hide in the hole... but something distracted Janey. Something moved inside the hole. Could it be a squirrel? A racoon? A closer inspection showed her something fur and yellow was hiding inside. Maybe it was a puppy! Oh, she knew what to do, that puppy probably was scared and needed hugs. She got her hand inside to touch the soft fur of the puppy but something pinched her. And it hurt so much!

"Mommy!"

Heidi felt her heart stop. What was happening? She ran to her daughter and found Janey sitting at the foot of an oak tree squeezing her hand.

"It bit me, Mom!" Her little hand pointed to the inside of the hole in the tree. Heidi noticed her hand was swelling and before taking her to the hospital, she knew it was vital to know which animal caused this.

Heidi got closer, afraid of what the animal reaction would be. It was full of fur, so it intrigued her. She twisted a branch from the oak which broke easily and poked the animal. She saw the movement but the animal didn't make a sound. Strange.

"Sweetie, take a step back. I'm going to try to get out the animal to see what it is before taking you to the doctor, ok?"

By now, she attracted the attention of her neighbor Sulpicia who accompanied them to the park.

"What's wrong?"

"It bit me!" Janey cried.

With great effort, Heidi managed to make the animal come outside the hole. It was a ball of fur!

"Jesus! What the hell is this?"

* * *

So this is my new story. I'm about to finish 'A mother's advice' so I decided to start posting this now. I'll post chapter 1 tomorrow, along with a picture of the caterpillar as the next chapter of AMA.

Tell me, what do you think?


	2. Chapter 1

"I'm so glad you could come so quickly, Bella. We didn't know what to do, we barely were able to handle's Janey's wound and now this thing is..."

"Shh, Angela. It's fine." Bella soothed her old friend. "I'm glad to help."

Bella left Micanopy as soon as she finished high school and never looked back. But when she received the desperate call from her old friend Angela, she decided to make an exception.

"So you said this girl was stung by a weird bug." Bella was used to hear all insects being described as 'bugs'. That's the way her father described them when she was little and that's what he called her when she decided to become an entomologist, bug girl.

"Yes. It's a... well, her mother had the help of one neighbor and they brought the animal. It's under this box."

Angela showed her an old cardboard box about three feet long. It couldn't be this big, right? Bella thought.

"Angela, are you sure this is an insect? Only by the size of the box, I think this is a mammal."

"Wait." Angela slowly lifted the box. Inside was the biggest ball of fur Bella ever saw. It looked like those creatures from the old Star Trek, what were they called? Tribbles. That's right. Bella used a pencil to push the creature and it slowly crawled an inch.

"I can't believe it. This is Megalopyge Opercularis, usually called 'puss caterpillar'. They're poisonous and I can't even think how bad the sting of the spine was. This larva usually is about an inch long. Did you saved the little girl?"

Angela was shocked. "Are they that dangerous?"

Bella nodded. "There had been cases of people who died after being stung by various caterpillars. Look." Bella lifted a lock of fur from the bug, "Here, between the fur there are spines. Now, I wonder why this one got so big. Do you think we could go to the place where she found it?"

xxx

The owners of the beloved Newton's were known for their hospitality. They always had someone living in their apartment. Unbeknownst to the people in town, was the fact that those guests were special. They didn't accept any stray tourist, no. Only a selected group of people were allowed to get a room in their building. This time, their guests were a group of three men which Michael and Tanya hired to repair the old kitchen and to add a new kid's section with games. Or, that's what they said to the nosy people in town who dared to ask.

"Are you sure you have enough towels?" Tanya Newton was setting the guys in their apartment. It had three simple bedrooms so they would have to share the bathroom.

"Sure, don't worry Mrs. Newton." Jasper Whitlock answered, or as he will have to be called, JW. All the guests had to change their names during their stay with the Newtons. It was for their safety.

"Call me Tanya, you're making me feel old."

It wasn't like she was old, she was in her mid-forties. Just like her husband. They were both retired from the FBI and offered their service of hiding witnesses in their little town to a certain selected group of agents. Only the few they trusted.

"Alright, Tanya." Jasper smiled. "Do you mind if I keep my guitar case over here?"

"This is your bedroom, you can keep it wherever you want. As a matter of fact, consider this apartment your home. As long as it doesn't bother your friends, we won't have a problem. Now, I know Michael and your friends will come back soon, but I'm going to start with dinner. If you need anything, I'll be downstairs working in the kitchen."

Jasper thanked her again and sighed relieved when she left. Both, Michael and Tanya, were really nice, he was thankful for it. But he couldn't stop the feeling of dread that started since he and his coworkers found one of the main heads of the company they used to work, was selling information to their main competition. Why did he have to stay in his office so late that night? Now, he and his two coworkers, Edward and Emmett were stuck hiding in this little town until the trial to that man begun.

xxx

"This was the tree, right?" Bella asked Angela. It worried her that the tree was a normal oak, and as far as she could see, there wasn't a reason for the caterpillar to get that big. She kept searching on the area surrounding the tree, but everything was pretty normal.

"What do you think?"

"I think we'll need to get the people know about the caterpillar." Bella said but noticed the frown on Angela's face. "It's normal. Kids see the bug and think it's pretty and they touch it. It always happens. But I want to know it this big one was a fluke or if there are more like that. We were lucky with Janey, her wound could have been worst. I'll also need to call my boss. I'm sure he will help me to find out why this one got so big."

"Sure Bella, you know you have my support. We can let you work in the east wing of the hospital." Angela was fast to offer her help because a part of their plan was going to be difficult. "But to let the town know you'll have to talk to him."

Bella sighed. "Is he still the chief?"

"Yeah. And you won't believe who's his deputy."

"Nooo. Are you kidding me?"

"Nope. They are as tight as they were when you were here."

What Bella dreaded was to talk to her father, Charlie Swan. The moment she decided to further her education and never coming back, he disowned her. It wasn't like their relationship was better before, he always wanted her to settle in this town, maybe to marry his best friend son who was perfect for Bella in Charlie's opinion. Too bad she always wanted something else. And she always despised Jacob, who was Charlie's golden boy. Well, he still is the golden boy according to Angela.

"Damn!" Bella exclaimed and started to pace. She wasn't sure her father would listen to her warnings. Maybe if Carlisle was the one delivering the news...

"I'm sure Janey's mother will be there to support you." Angela also knew how Charlie despised everything related to Bella since she left. It would be better if they brought someone else for support.

"No, we better go and talk to him. I don't want to risk any other kid to get stung."

xxx

By sunrise, Edward was tired of the little trip into town. It wasn't his host, Michael. He was a really nice man. No. It was all the staring whenever they got inside a new store. It made him feel like a freak like he had two heads or maybe four arms. Really, this was a touristy town. Why were they so interested in him or Emmett?

"This was the last one. I know both of you are tired, so why don't we go home?" Michael said. He was tired of the lustful stares the women were giving to these poor guys. But he knew if they saw them with him, they would know they weren't strangers and the townsfolks will treat them right.

On the way to their car, they passed in front of the police station, the dark domain of Charlie Swan. Michael didn't like him because he was always poking his nose in Michael's business despite his superior's orders to leave him alone. Michael saw a woman leaving the premises followed by deputy Jacob Black. She was spewing curses, not that Michael blamed her, Jacob was capable of testing anyone's patience.

"Leave me alone, you creep!" The woman screamed.

"No, you have to listen for once. Go home and we'll get there later." Jacob said, and she answered with a snort.

"Go fuck yourself, Jacob! I'm giving you a real warning and you dismiss me like, like..."

"We knew all those years in college would drive you crazy and you just proved us right. Go home Bella, I'll be there soon."

The prick was about to hold the woman when she slapped him.

"Leave me alone!" He held her in his arms and she was struggling to get him to release her.

"I can get you in jail for this." Jacob gloated.

Suddenly, Jacob was pushed to the side and a man was standing between them.

"The lady said to leave her alone." Edward said, he never was able to let a prick getting rough with a woman. He caught Jacob by surprise, but with so many witnesses, Jacob couldn't shot the guy who dared to get between him and the love of his life.

"Oh, but I'm really sure I can get you in jail," Jacob said while trying to get his cuffs from his back pocket.

"Hmm, Jacob, we all witnessed how you were the one harassing this woman." Michael intervened. He knew Charlie would be delighted to get in jail one of his guests, giving him the chance to get his claws on classified information, not suitable for his greedy eyes. But the threat of having witnesses was enough to get Jacob off them.

"I'm giving you a warning, stranger. Mind your own business or I'll throw you in jail." It was the only Jacob could say to save face in front of the strangers. So with is last words he retreated to the confines of the police station, hoping Bella listened to him and went home to wait for him. It wasn't like she had somewhere else to stay. Big bugs that could hurt kids. Jesus! With what crazy bullshit Bella was able to come around. This time, he was sure to convince her to stay.

Meanwhile, Bella was quick to get behind the stranger who saved her. "Thanks."

"Oh, it wasn't..." Edward turned to look at the woman, really look at her. She was beautiful. So beautiful she rendered him speechless.

xxx

Royce King was tired. Tired of working all day to keep the farm up. Tired of his wife's nagging whenever he got home. And when he finally thought he would get help, he just found out his son Riley got a scholarship to get into college. Great. 'I want to become a doctor, Dad'. Like that would help with the farm. Riley even had the guts to break up with his beautiful girlfriend Jessica. Royce was mad he raised a fag!

So he used the little time he had to check the perimeter of the farm, to get a few sips of his faithful scotch. It was the only comfort he had in his fucked up life.

The road was empty, like always. He could drive his truck around it with his eyes closed. That's why he never felt bad for drinking while he gave his rounds. But this time, he saw something. There was someone walking on his land. He stopped the truck and got down to investigate.

"Hey! This is private property, you need to leave." He walked to the stranger. On a closer look, this wasn't a stranger. It was Jessica Stanley, his son's ex-girlfriend.

"Jess, what are you doing here?"

"Riley dumped me!" She was crying.

"Shh, shh. It'll be fine." He tried to sooth her. "Come to the truck. I'll give you a ride home." He couldn't believe Riley dumped the girl. She was a nice piece of ass, probably the best in town. What was he thinking?

Once they were in his truck, Jessica asked him to take a long way home, so she would have time to calm down. Royce knew something better to calm her down.

"Maybe a little sip of this will cheer you up." He offered his bottle to Jessica, she thought she had nothing to lose.

"Ok. It's just it was so sudden..."

Royce noticed she wanted to talk, so he decided to drive to that secluded point on the back of the farm.

Three sips of scotch later, and Jessica was feeling better. Really better.

"Sorry Jess. I know my son is an ass. How could he break the heart of a sweet girl like you?" Royce said while hoping Riley at least, banged the girl once. It was a sin to let a girl like her go.

Jessica wailed and hugged him, making sure her boobs were pushed against his chest. If Riley broke up with her, leaving her without the only chance she had to leave this town, she had to make sure to find another way.

Royce had been deprived of female contact for so long. His wife always had headaches or was always tired. The feeling of Jessica's soft skin and warm body was stirring forgotten feelings in his old body.

"I think you may need someone to listen..." He whispered.

Jessica hugged him tighter. She made sure to release her breath on his ears. "I need someone who cares." She tangled her fingers in his hair. This wasn't the first time she took the first step and seduced a man, she had to make sure he felt guilty later to ensure his obedience.

Royce felt bad for a second. This was his son's girlfriend! Well, ex-girlfriend, and according to Jess, he dumped her. The poor girl was feeling hurt.

"I care," He said, looking into Jess' sad eyes.

She didn't hesitate and kissed him.

They were too occupied making out when something big fell on the roof of the truck.

"Uh?" Royce wondered what happened, when Jess, scared to lose her last chance, put his hand on her breast.

"Nothing. Now where were we?" And she proceeded to kiss him again.

Whatever landed on the roof, started to move, turning the truck to the side.

"Wait Jess." Royce had a flashlight under his seat, so he took it out and tried to get a peek around them. There was nothing.

"See, I told you." Jess was desperate to get his attention. She took his hand and put it inside her skirt.

But the thing on the roof was moving and it made Royce nervous. "Let me open the door..." As soon as he opened it, a bundle of fur came into their vision and suddenly a large spine came out and stung Royce's neck.

Jessica barely had the chance to scream when another spine touched her leg propped on Royce's lap.

The bundle of fur descended from the roof, completely unaware of the two bodies inside the truck. Its only concern was to make it to the plantation behind the trees.

* * *

Hi!

I hope you're liking the story. Let me know your thoughts on it. If you want to take a look of the caterpillar, I finally made a banner for this story, it has a cute specimen of the puss caterpillars ;)

P.S.: Leslie E, I've never been in Florida, but Micanopy was so interesting when I was searching where to place the story that made me wish to visit someday. Is it really as charming as it looks in pictures?


	3. Chapter 2

"What were you thinking?" Michael usually was an easy going man, but this Edward really fucked it up. "I don't know if you remember it, but you are supposed to be hiding in here. Jesus! And that fuck, Jacob, he's an annoying shit with the ego of the size of a truck. Now you'll have him hanging around watching you."

Edward was still dazed. The brunette beauty was so nice to thank him for his help.

 _'Thanks'_

 _'Oh, it wasn't...' he remember her blush and the way she bit her lip while trying to hide her face with her hair._

 _'Hmm, I guess I'll see you around. I'm Bella.'_

 _'I'm Ed... Tony.'_

Edward had that goofy smile on his face. Emmett elbowed him to get him back to normal.

"You, dumb fuck. Why do you get so excited? You can't get attached to her. You can't have anything to do with her. Remember, we're hiding here."

That was enough to make Edward want to cry.

xxx

Bella wasn't one to shy from attention, but there was something about this Tony guy, and he was so handsome.

Usually, she never turned into this shy, scaredy cat. She was a strong, confident woman, one that overcame the punches life threw at her. She was Bella Swan. By the time when she walked back to where Angela parked her car, she was herself again.

She found Angela was a bit shocked, but not as Heidi. Oh, right. They saw her fighting with Charlie.

 _'He sat up straight when he saw her coming, trying to give her his most intimidating glare. 'So look what the cat drag in.'_

 _'I'm here as an entomologist, not as your daughter. One of the kids in town got stung by a rare caterpillar and...'_

 _'So? There are a lot of creepy creatures around here.'_

 _'But this one has some mutation, its sting can cause more damage. It grew to the size of a cat! We have to make the parents know to not let their kids play around with...'_

 _'See Jacob, I told you too many books would make her crazy. If only she had listen to me and stayed here.'_

 _'Yeah, now look to the nonsense she's spewing. Caterpillars the size of cats. What's next, flying saucers?' Both men guffawed._

 _'You have to listen, we have to warn...'_

 _'No Bella. People around here are used to animals, hell, the worst we had was when that snake tried to bit Jacob. You remember Jacob?'_

 _'Yes, I put a bullet right in the middle of its ugly head'._

 _'Now, Bella, why don't you go home or better, go back to that university where you work and stay away from us.' Charlie said, but Jacob shook his head._

 _'No, go home and I'll be there to talk o you. I deserve to know why you left me.'_

 _'I didn't leave you! You and I never were a thing!'_

By then Angela and Heidi were gone, and now Bella would have to face them. She was so ashamed to let those two, Charlie and Jacob, to get the best of her.

"Sorry guys. I never wanted you to see me arguing with them. Dad always brings out the worst of me."

"Hmm, it was a different side of chief Swan that we never have the chance to see," Heidi mumbled.

"So they ignored you, right?" Angela asked. She knew Charlie always underestimated Bella.

"Yes." She nodded. "But still we have a lot to do. I'm calling my boss, Dr. Carlisle Cullen. He sure has the credentials to make my father listen, and whatever we found he has the right contacts to deal with it."

"You think something is making the caterpillars grow?"

"Yes. It was way far from its usual habitat too. We have to make the parents know to never let the kids touch this bug. Are you sure you won't mind me staying the night?"

Angela smiled. "No, it would be like old times. We're going to have a sleep-over."

xxx

The next morning, Emily, who was Royce's wife, woke up to a cold bed. Royce didn't come back. She sighed, knowing he probably was passed out on his truck. He liked to drink alone and lament of his sorry life. Well, his life was a waste if you asked her, but he was making her worst. No, she had to drive to wherever he parked and bring him home. Riley probably would have to help her, Royce was a big man after all.

"Mom, Mom!" Speaking of the devil...

"I'm awake!" She said, she put on her robe and walked to the hallway where Riley was calling to her.

"It's Jess' mom. She said she never got home after she left here."

Right. Riley had the sense to dump her whorish ass last night. So she probably went to some bar. She surely spent the night with another man. Mrs. Stanley didn't deserve the grief Jessica brought to her.

"Tell Mrs. Stanley that she left. She will come home later, maybe she went to a friend's house?"

"Mom! We have to find her." Riley whined.

xxx

Finally, Emily relented. She convinced Riley to first get Royce home and then she would help him to seek out Jessica.

They drove around the property when Riley mentioned his father loved to park in a clear on the back of the woods. Surely enough, the truck was parked there, but the roof was kind of crushed, like a rock fell on it. What if he had an accident?

"Park here. Let's take a look." She asked Riley.

They walked slowly towards the truck, only to find that the driver's side door was completely squashed on the grass. Inside they found a large purple mass. On a closer look, it was Royce's body though it was bloated beyond recognition if it wasn't for his clothes nobody would imagine that thing was a man. On his lap, there was a mess of blood and some gooey substance. What the hell happened here? But what brought Emily to scream was what appeared on the floor. It was Jessica's head!

xxx

Charlie Swan wasn't used to deal with hysterical women. He usually let Jacob or Embry, the other deputy, to deal with them. But when they came back to Charlie's home last night and found it empty, Jacob started to drink and now he was so hungover Charlie had to answer to Riley King's desperate call. Oh, how he wished he didn't. Especially with Mrs. Stanley wails.

At first, he didn't believe it. A part of him still was thinking that Royce must have had crashed on one tree and the truck rolled over. Or how else could someone explain the plunged roof? Now, Royce's body was a different story. He called Dr. Clapp from next county because he sure as hell didn't want that nosy Dr. Angela Webber examining the body. He never liked her when she was young and supported Bella, he liked less now that she had the sympathy of the townfolks.

And he didn't even want to start to think about what happened to Jessica Stanley's body. Maybe those flying saucers Embry mentioned earlier really exist?

Anyway, according to Embry, the help would arrive in a couple of hours, he only had to question the weeping messes of Mrs. Stanley and Mrs. King, oh and the boy, Riley.

"So when was the last time you saw your Dad?" He started with Riley. He was stoic consoling his mother.

"Hmm, after dinner. He was a bit upset and left to give his usual perimeter checking before going to sleep."

"Aha. Why was he upset? Did you fight?" Maybe Royce was angry and distracted, driving carelessly and crashed.

"Oh no. Well, he didn't like my plans for the future." Riley didn't want to share too much. It wasn't like it was related to whatever happened to his father.

"And you Mrs. Stanley, when was the last time you saw your daughter?"

"She left in the morning. She told me she had plans for dinner with someone." She was glaring to Riley now. Charlie found it interesting.

"So perhaps you Riley were the last one to see Jessica." Maybe if he could get Riley nervous he could get some answers.

"She came to our home, we have a few words and then she left before dinner. I don't know what she did later."

"Did you fight?"

"Hmm, I, I broke up with her." Oh, Charlie thought. This was getting interesting. Now if he could find the reason why Jessica was inside Royce's truck.

But Mrs. Stanley went nuts. "You what? Jess had all these plans for after graduation like you were going to marry and, and..."

Riley was shocked. "No. That 's wrong. Jess knew I planned to leave after graduation. I just found out I got accepted in FIU. I told her it was best if we went our separate ways because I plan to devote myself to study. I have to keep my full ride scholarship."

"It was also a matter of contention with Royce." Emily pointed. "He expected Riley to stay, but my boy had worked so hard to get that scholarship. He never planned to stay, and that was even before he met Jessica." She added before Mrs. Stanley could argue.

Still those answers didn't shine any light to whatever happened here, Charlie thought sadly.

xxx

"Ugh, my head." Bella woke up with something rattling inside her head. Where was she? Oh, right. Angela's house. The empty bottles of wine and the discarded box of pizza reminded her of their sleep over. She giggled when she recalled how she tried to grill Angela about the mysterious and handsome Tony to find that he probably was new in town or a tourist.

"Wakey, wakey sunshine!" Angela sang.

"Oh God! Why are you so loud?"

"Take this and then take a bath. I'm going to be late for work, but it was worthy. Now, your boss called. I hope you don't mind I answered. He will be here by noon. Do you think he will manage to get to the hospital or do you want to wait for him?" Angela talked fast as she gave Bella a couple of aspirins and a bottle of water.

Bella was still suffering for the wine bottles they drank last night, so she thought it would be better if she took her time to bath and have breakfast and let Carlisle find them.

"No, he said he would bring his SUV with his trusted GPS, he can manage. Now, give me an hour to get ready and..."

"Oh no. I need to get to the hospital. I'm sure you can remember the way, when you get there I'll set you up in the east wing. See ya!"

Bella took her time, but she got bathed and dressed in a few minutes, hoping to find her old beloved 'Jenkins' dinner was still open. But when she arrived, she found Jenkins turned into Newton's. Well, it still was a dinner that seemed to cater to the local people. Well, she needed something greasy before starting her day, so she went in to give the dinner new owners a try.

"Good morning, I'll be with you in a second." Said one tired waitress. Bella sat in one booth at the back and gave a glance around. They kept most of Jenkins old features, but she could see some improvements. The table at her booth was sturdier and it had an assortment of condiments in colorful jars on the corner. The sweet smell of food cooking was still around and she wondered if old Mr. Ulley was still the cook or maybe he passed the job to his son Sam. The little shit always was following his father around the kitchen.

"Hi, my name is Sue. Do you want our especial of sunnyside eggs with juice or maybe our blueberry pancakes?" Sue said while giving Bella a menu. Bella got stuck looking at her.

"Sue, Sue Clearwater?" Bella would never have recognized her. Last she knew, her husband Harry was sick and she had problems to get her son and daughter to help her.

The waitress looked down and squealed when she recognized Bella. "But if it's Bella Swan! Oh, I'm so happy to see you." Sue's face changed completely, making her look years younger.

Bella stood up to hug her old friend.

"I see soo much had changed. Is Sam working in the kitchen like we always supposed he would do?"

Sue scrunched her nose. "No, Sam took a few classes outside and decided to become a chef. He works part time on those fancy little restaurants around town."

"Then who's in the kitchen? Mr. Ulley must be terribly old."

A blond woman about my age came from the kitchen calling Sue. I never met her.

"That's Renata, my daughter in law," She said beaming. She really must appreciate her.

"So Seth came back?"

"Let me bring you a coffee and then we can talk. I have a lot to tell you."

xxx

"So Harry's illness took a toll on me. I got sick too with Pneumonia, but by then Seth was finished with his college degree so he came back with Renata. They got married and been living here. He was a great help when Harry passed a year ago."

"Oh God. I'm so sorry. Nobody told me..."

"I know your father wouldn't call, but we assumed Rosalie maybe was still close to you."

"We had a fall out in college. We are not longer on speaking terms. I'm so sorry I lost contact. It's just, I had too much work and then life just got in the way."

Sue nodded and patted Bella's hand making her sure Sue wouldn't begrudge her absence.

"Nanny Sue!" A little boy came running. Sue got him and carried him on her hip.

"This is the latest addition to our family, this is Harry Jr."

The kid had Seth's face. He shied from Bella and hid his face on Sue's neck.

"Say hello to Bella, Harry. She used to play with your Dad when she was a kid." Harry dared to peek from Sue's hair and smiled.

"Really?"

"Yeah, we always got in trouble because we never remain clean. Seth used to make holes in his pants."

"Me too." Harry pointed to the scrapped knee of his pants.

"So you play around." Bella winked. "Promise me something, if you see a little bug made of fur do you promise not to touch it?"

Sue turned to look at me.

"Yes. That's why I'm here."

A big oaf of a man came around carrying a tiny tool belt. "Mr. Harry, are you ready to work with us?"

The kid got extremely happy.

"Yes MC!"

Bella got the impression that someone was watching her, but she looked around to no avail.

When the oaf man started to talk to Sue about taking the kid with him, Bella lifted her sight. In the corner looking at her intently, was no other but Tony, who timidly waved at her.


	4. Chapter 3

_When the_ oaf _man started to talk to Sue about taking the kid with him, Bella lifted her sight. In the corner looking at her intently, was no other but Tony, who timidly waved at her._

Sadly, her phone rang with Carlisle tone.

"Hey boss, where are you?"

"I just parked in the hospital. I know it's early but the picture you sent me was pretty impressive."

Bella chuckled. Of course, it was impressive. It was like the Godzilla of caterpillars.

"Ok, I'm at the dinner, do you want me to bring you something to eat?" She asked, knowing Dr. Carlisle Cullen was known to get so absorbed in his work that he could miss all the meals in the day.

"Hmm, no, thanks. I bought a sandwich, it should be around here on the backseat."

Bella sighed. Sometimes she felt like his mother.

"I'll be there in five. Don't move." She hung up and looked up for Sue. She was waving at Harry who was jumping on the big man shoulders. Tony was walking with them.

"Hey Sue, do you mind packing my food? Work calls me." Sue nodded. "Oh, and add a slice of pie. Who knows when was the last time my boss ate."

"Sure," Sue answered, picking up the plates on the table.

"Hmm, so do you know Tony?" Bella asked, trying to fake nonchalance and failing miserably.

"Yes, he's cute, right?" Sue noticed the blush covering Bela's cheeks and smiled. The guy seemed smitten by Bella too, he just couldn't stop looking at her with a goofy smile while she was talking on the phone.

"Just a bit. So is he a tourist?"

"No, he's one of Newton's tenants. He and his friends were hired to remodeling this dinner."

Bella was shocked. "But it's all shiny and new!"

Sue smiled. It wasn't that new, but if you compared it to the way Jenkins kept it before, certainly it looked like new. "They want to add a kids section on the back. There aren't many tourists with kids around here, but you have to go with the times."

"So that's why the tall man brought a tool belt for Harry."

"Oh, that one is a kid in the body of an adult. He wants us to call him MC, and he became Harry's hero immediately. They just got here yesterday, and he already got him to play cars and pirates. He really doesn't mind to make a fool of himself to make Harry laugh."

Bella nodded. While it was nice to hear, the one who held her interest was the other guy.

"And Tony..."

Sue couldn't hold her laughter. "You know, you can come over here later before we close. We can talk and maybe if you're lucky, Mr. Tony could be around."

xxx

"So you see Harry, these tools are for us because we are big boys and we know to be careful around tools," Emmett said to Harry who was nodding with joy. "And to Tony, who's too distracted and looking to the window, we are going to give him a broom."

"A broom?"

"Yeah, it has to be clean before we start measuring."

Edward, or Tony as he's going to be called, was trying to get a glimpse of the brunette beauty. Just when Emmett convinced him to forget ever seeing her, she was standing right in front of him. Despite whatever Emmett said, Edward thought it was fate. He just had to find a way to meet her without giving away his real identity. He was so engrossed in his daydreaming that when Emmett gave him the broom, he started to sweep the floor without thinking it. That really made little Harry laugh.

"See, I told you, Harry."

Emmett's guffaw was what brought Edward back to reality. He looked at his hands and noticed the broom, which brought more laughter from Harry and Emmett.

"Wake up Tony!" Harry said between chuckles.

"Why am I sweeping the floor?"

"Duh, because it needs to be clean before we take measures. Really, Tony, you act like you never did this before." Emmett was laying it thick on the sarcasm. They were engineers working for a high-end tech company before all this mess started. While they never really build something, they hoped to be able to fake being construction workers.

"It shouldn't be difficult. Just screw part A into B slot." Edward retorted and that brought another guffaw from Emmett.

"You know, that was your subconscious talking. So are you still thinking in the pretty brunette?"

"How did you know?" Edward asked.

"Insert tab A into B slot? Doesn't it ring a bell?" Jasper asked. He arrived just in time to see his partners in crime bickering. He was glad they weren't annoying.

"Shh! There are kids around here." Edward whispered to Jasper, who just shrugged his shoulders.

"Boys, give me hand over here!" Tanya yelled from the back. They just got delivered the box with the jungle gym for the kids. Now, Tanya had a love of solving puzzles so she thought it was better if she directed the assembling and also to keep an eye on the guys. Tanya and Michael had previous bad experiences. Not all the people they helped to hide were nice. One woman had the nerve to steal from them! So she thought it would be better to be safe than sorry.

Jasper was the first to come. "Allow me, ma'am."

He took the first box he found on the floor, not the biggest one. Then Edward, with a broom in his hands, came to take two smaller boxes. He asked if she didn't mind he dropped the broom her for a while. The last one was Emmett with little Harry behind. He made a spectacle of lifting the biggest box, having Harry helping him.

"Look, MC!" Under the biggest box was a ball of fur, the size of a kitten. It started to crawl to where Tanya was watching. She bent to touch it when Harry came running.

"No, don't touch it!"

It shocked Tanya; Harry was a well-behaved kid.

"The lady at the dinner told me to not touch it because it's dangerous," He said.

Jasper was back and curious about the little ball of fur.

"Maybe it's a really hairy cat." But just to appease the worried frown on Harry he used his shoe to kick it.

"Shhii... ouch!" The little ball of fur moved, but not before leaving a spine on Jasper's boot.

xxx

"Angela, this is my boss, Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Boss, this is my dear friend Dr. Angela Webber."

Bella was making the introductions, amused by the way Angela's eyes almost burst out of her face. When Angela guided them to the east wing of the hospital, she mouthed 'He's so gorgeous!'. Sure, Carlisle was a handsome man. But to Bella, he was her mentor since she started with her masters. He was like the father she would rather have. And once you interacted with him, you became aware that he was the opposite of a Casanova.

"Now, this is the lab that we can borrow to you."

It wasn't a big room, but it had a great lighting, enough space for their investigation. The little furball was still caged on the corner of the room.

"Boss, this is Bob." Bella showed the caterpillar to Carlisle.

"Bob? Really Bella?"

"It sounds better than specimen one or whatever name you choose." Bella brought a banana from the paper bag with food. She put it to the side of the caterpillar, it was too small.

Carlisle noticed with astonished eyes, how the worm crawled to where the banana was, but unable to reach it because of the cage.

"Oh, Bob is hungry. Do they eat bananas?" Angela said, trying to push the banana through the holes in the cage.

"Usually, they eat leafs, but who knows? Maybe this one ate something that made him big." Bella continued to look into her bag. Sue was nice enough to pack a salad, so Bella thought that had to be good for Bob. They needed it alive.

To everyone's surprise, Bob began to munch on the banana.

"No Bob! Look, I have a salad." Bella began to toss the ingredients of the salad through the holes of the cage. To her surprise, Bob kept munching on the banana, and then it went for the lettuce.

"He's a bit hungry," Angela said smiling. If it wasn't so dangerous, he would look cute.

"How is the girl it stung?" Carlisle wondered aloud.

"She's recovering. She only had her hand affected, and the swelling is receding."

Carlisle nodded. "I think I'll go for my equipment. I need the pliers to take one spine out. We'll start analyzing the venom."

xxx

"Dr. Webber! We have another one." The flushed nurse said when she came to the lab. Angela hurried outside, Carlisle and Bella in tow.

"This time is an adult." The nurse said and Angela sighed. With the difference in weight and height, she expected the damage to be lesser than Janey's case.

Once they got into the room where he was resting, she hurried to look at the swollen foot of the wounded man.

"I know it hurts, but please describe what kind of pain you have? Is it like a pinch, little shocks,"

"It feels like I'm burning."

Angela addressed the tiny mark where the spine touched his skin. It didn't even get through the skin.

"Ok, I'm going to give you something for the pain. You were so lucky it only touched you and didn't have the chance to get the venom inside."

Tanya was fast to get to Angela. She had to be wrong, Jasper was pale and sweating. One could see he was in pain.

"Are you sure? What if he's allergic or something else?" But Angela shook her head and proceeded to explain what happened to Janey.

Bella made her way to the room, barely noticing who was inside. On the table beside the bed, laid the little spine pierced to one construction boot. Bella took one rag and a plastic bag and used them like a glove to take the spine out of the boot.

"Which size the caterpillar had? Like a cat? Like a mouse?" The spine wasn't as big as the ones Bob sported.

"Caterpillar? It was something like a hairy kitten." Emmett said, but Bella shook her head.

"Nope. We noticed this species of caterpillars has gotten too big. That's why we are here." She pointed to Carlisle who was helping Angela to examine Jasper's foot.

"I did as you told me. I said it was dangerous." Harry said, walking to Bella. She turned to look at him and smiled.

"I'm really proud of you. You did great. Now poor Mr..."

"JW" Tanya was fast to say.

"Mr. JW is going to have a shot of medicine, so he will get fine."

"Will you give him a lollipop? They always give me one if I behave."

"I'll get you a big one too for being so brave. If Mr. JW had touched the caterpillar, he probably would be sicker."

"Are you sure it's a caterpillar? I'd never seen one this big." A soft velvety voice said behind Bella's back. She turned and noticed it was Tony.

"Hmm, pretty sure. We have another one in our lab. It stung a little girl yesterday." Then Bella turned to Harry. "We named him Bob. Do you want to see it?"

xxx

They reunited in the lab after they left Jasper sleeping. Harry wasn't the only one curious about the caterpillars.

"What did you do with the worm?" Angela asked, worried because the animal was right in the middle of town.

"Hmm, we may have dropped a big box on it," Emmett said, with his hand on the back of his neck. "It was an accident."

"Still, I'd like to take a look. You said it was the parking lot of a dinner, which I find odd. These caterpillars usually stay in gardens, or maybe in warm, humid, dark places. So when you mentioned the first one hiding inside the trunk of a tree, it was normal. But this one crawling on plain sight..."

"It probably came in one of the boxes. We just received one of the games for our kid's section." Tanya pointed. "We need to let people know these bugs are dangerous."

Bella sighed. "We went yesterday to the police station but... let's just say, we won't have their aid."

"Oh, right. You're Chief Swan's daughter."

"And what about your boyfriend?" Edward was fast to ask. He just had to know if she was single.

"He's not my boyfriend! He's just a nuisance." Bella answered, with Angela supporting her words.

"He's delusional and one of the reasons why Bella never came back." Everybody noticed how Edward exhaled, relieved. "Maybe we should ask Esme Volturi for help."

"She's still here? I though she asked Mr. Volturi to divorce?"

"No, he never granted it. But practically they live apart."


	5. Chapter 4

"Shit! Chief Swan, you should have told me it was urgent. This body is decomposing too fast. The time it took me to get here and drive the bodies to my lab, I'm sure we lost a lot of clues."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what do you think? It wasn't only a crash, right?" Charlie was worried about the paperwork. One case as strange as this surely needed to be checked by a higher authority. He would be lucky they don't call the Feds.

"The bloated body deflated when I pinched it." Dr. Clapp told Charlie. "The decease was caused by a massive amount of venom which liquefied Royce's organs, but I can't find wich kind they used. You have to look around for any lab to report a great quantity of venom stolen because to get a body to melt like this, they used more than a few drops. But first, we need to find what kind of venom was used and you still have to find Jesica's bones. We only have the head. Your daughter works in the biology lab in Minnesota, right? You need to call her for a query. "

xxx

Jacob was aware that patrolling the zone of the murder was a punishment bestowed upon him because he drank too much and disobeyed Charlie. Sure, he was almost over Bella but to see her coming home in all her glory... he was only human no one could blame him for trying.

And now, he had to walk around, keeping the few curious townsfolks who dared to come closer at bay. His phone rang and he was happy to hear about someone.

"Jacob, while you're on patrol, search for Jess' bones. The Doc says they must be around."

"Hello, again Charlie."

"Look, I'm too busy to deal with your shit. You walk around and if by any chance you see a speck of blood, you follow it and call me. I don't want this shit to get bigger and have the feds over here. I already have to call Bella." Charlie grumbled before finishing the call.

"Damn!" Jacob now decided to walk back. He was sure he saw a few broken branches like someone passed by. He wasn't one who liked to speculate, but maybe the killer ran away using that road. Right, the killer. Otherwise, why would Charlie be worried about the feds? It had to be a murder. He found the few broken branches and followed the faint trail. He found it curious that the soil had an orange shade. A few steps inside the trail he found the same gooey substance and drops of blood. He was right! He followed the path and was surprised when he found what probably was the rest of Jessica's skeleton. He used one of the little flags Dr. Clapp gave him. Now, the path continued so he decided to follow it. it wasn't like the bones would run.

The path led to the road to Kress Lake and he noticed the trail continued on the other side. Uh, oh. That was Volturi's land. Despite his concerns, he followed the trail and was shocked when he found a young woman in a long skirt prancing around. A young male was standing close to her and he was taking pictures.

"Hmm, excuse me. Do you know that this is private land?"

The young woman stopped, but before she answered, Esme Volturi came to her side.

"They're with me, Jacob. She's the daughter of an old acquaintance that came to visit."

The young woman came closer to Jacob. She was so short! But she had the most delicate features, just a bit closer to Bella's sweet face.

"So, your name Miss...?

"My name is Mary and I came to visit before I got back to school. And that's my boyfriend A..armand"

The young man waved, but he seemed tired of being there.

"Right, well, Mrs. Volturi, it's just we had an incident on Royce King's land. Perhaps the Chief will come by later just to take a look and check this side of yours." Jacob knew since the day he was born you didn't mess with the Volturi, Mrs. Esme was the most benign but still, you never wanted to be on her wrong side.

"Don't worry Jacob. Is there something I can do to help?"

"No, just stay on this side." Jacob said and walked back. Imagine if he found something here? No, it could risk his neck. No, the road was here. Maybe the killer had someone waiting over here for him. Better follow that road and look for tire marks. The killer probably went to the lake.

xxx

Esme keep her pleasant smile but as soon as Jacob left she turned to her young visitors.

"That was close."

"What do think happened over there?" Mary, or Mary Alice as that was her real name, asked.

"I don't know. Royce King was a quiet man. He was a bit paranoid about people getting into his land, so maybe he roughed a tourist."

"You don't think it's related to what we..."

"I don't know. I'll have to call later to Mrs. Cope. She always knows what's going on. You did good with your name, but almost lost it with Alec's."

The man laughed. "Armand? Really? That's the only one you could think about?"

"Hey, it sounds interesting." Mary Alice tried to defend.

"It sounds pompous and gay."

xxx

At the hospital lab, Angela was explaining with detail what she knew to Carlisle, but the Tanya and Emmett were also listening with rapt attention. Meanwhile, Harry was entertained watching Bob munch into the remains of the food Bella brought. On the opposite corner of the lab, Edward was focused on Bella.

"So when Angela called I dropped everything. Well, we weren't doing nothing really important at the moment."

"What made you study insects?" Edward was truly interested. He always thought that the people who chose that field of study were... well, to be honest, he thought they were nerds. As if he being an engineer had much room to talk.

"My Grandfather was a biologist. He taught me to find the beauty in each creature. So as a kid, I was always crawling on the floor, picking up bugs and writing on a pad what I found."

Edward smiled. She was so cute.

"And what about you? Where are you from?"

"Hmm, " Edward thought about being honest, but the glare Tanya directed to him made him reconsider. "We're kind of nomad at the time. Big fight with our families so we decided to start fresh in a new place." He twirled one lock of Bella's hair on his finger, it was so soft.

"Family? As in a wife or kids?" Bella felt like she was punched, what if he was a jerk and was used to break hearts in whatever town they stayed?

"Oh, no. Nothing like that. I'm very single." Edward winked but he noticed Bella didn't buy the story. He had to win her trust. "You can ask the guys. Really, once you have the chance to meet us, you'll realize we're kind of boring."

"Miss Bella, look, Bob is getting fat." Harry pulled Bella's pants and she turned to the cage. Harry was right, Bob was growing. Just when she thought Bob couldn't surprise her more.

"Guys, we better go and check your restaurant. I don't want anyone else hurt."

xxx

Vicky and Bree were two college girls who went to Micanopy for a night out of college. Bree just broke with her controlling boyfriend, Vicky just finished a tiresome project and both decided to unwind. The road was getting dark and lonely, but they were so happy to be free that they were singing one old song that Bree found fitting to her feelings.

" _And don't tell me what to do_

 _Don't tell me what to say_

 _And please, when I go out with you_

 _Don't put me on display_

 _I don't tell you what to say_  
 _Oh, don't tell you what to do_  
 _So just let me be myself_  
 _That's all I ask of you_

"Look out!" Bree screamed but Vicky couldn't avoid crashing with the animal crossing the road.

"Oh my God! It was a cow!"

"No, it was grey. Maybe a wolf?"

Both girls decided to check and when they got down, they found the animal moving slowly towards the woods on the side of the road.

"I don't know what it was, but it doesn't have a tail," Bree said while Vicky was fast to snap a picture.

"It's for the insurance company."

Bree used the light on her phone to check the damage to the car.

"Shit! Vicky, look."

The front part of the car was completely crushed!

"I'm so glad you took the picture. My parents will kill me when I tell them I crashed into a cow."

"And you hurt it, the cow left a trail." Vicky pointed to the viscous substance on the floor, but she was careful enough to look for the wooden bat they kept in the car and used it to touch it. She wanted to make sure it wasn't blood.

It wasn't blood. It was something that melted the bat.

* * *

Hi!

So we met Alice, another one hiding her name. Who knows what brought her to Micanopy but she's on Esme's side. And now we have caterpillars as big as cows, Bella and her friends have to move to find them.

Oh, the song is 'You don't own me' from Leslie Gore.

Let me hear your opinion.

See ya!


	6. Chapter 5

That night, Tanya discussed the day events with Michael.

"And what did the doctor say?"

"He said we should be thankful it wasn't that serious. They kept him for observation hoping to release him tomorrow. He's just deeply sedated."

Michael shook his head. This was one kind of complication they never faced.

"And the other two?"

Tanya huffed. "Edward thought it was better they keep an eye on him, Jasper gets talkative when doped, we caught him when he was telling one nurse how he was the first one in his school to get the second place in the science fair and made to captain to the soccer team."

"Edward did well. That comment was innocent but personal. Who knows what Jasper would spill unintentionally!"

"Yeah, but Edward had other intentions as well. I'm sure the second Emmett gets into that room, he will run to the lab where Bella Swan is working. Those two aren't subtle."

"He's still after her? She's the chief's daughter! I don't want him to knock on our door to demand he stop seeing his beloved only child." Michael was truly worried.

But Tanya eased his mind. "Not really. Dr. Webber told me they had a big fall out years ago, and that the chief wasn't 'father of he year' material even before. Apparently they just avoid the other. Hmm, there's something else that Angela brought to my attention but I'm not sure how to deal with it."

"Is it bad?"

"Oh no. Angela mentioned that given the circumstances, Bella and her boss will need to stay in town for a few days. And while Angela has no problem giving her spare room to Bella, she was wondering if we could let Dr. Cullen sleep in our apartment."

Michael thought about it. He didn't want the guy closer to their guests, what if he was a spy sent to follow them? First he needed to check this Dr. Cullen credentials. Then they had to consider the apartment was already full. Well, he had an extra room where he keep his records for the dinner with a pull-out couch. And this way he could keep an eye on the man. "Do you think he's real?"

"A real doctor. Yes. But if it will ease your mind, we can check his credentials. It won't take more than fifteen minutes."

"Well, if he comes clean, we can let him stay in the little study. Now, how awful are those insects? Are they really a threat? We can't drive attention to the guys, hell, not to us too."

xxx

Meanwhile, the worries of the Newtons were for naught. Micanopy's police force had other problems to deal with.

Mr. Volturi was out of town, but Rosalie Hale was watching like a hawk their investigation.

"Right Miss Hale, I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with you." Charlie hated to butter up Rosalie Hale. That was another one who came back worse after going to college. Sadly, with Mr. Volturi away and Mrs. Volturi with visitors, he had to deal with the finicky Miss Hale. "But our main concern is to guarantee the safety of the family and yours. So, if you allow us just to give a look around, then we'll be out of your hair in a minute."

Rosalie Hale lead the way through the search. While her main worry was to keep them to find traces of any wrongdoings, she also loved to make Jacob and Embry squirm. She was glad the chief was walking behind them.

The chief was dealing with his own problems. Firstly, he was avoiding the call to Bella. It would be so humiliating to ask for her opinion as an expert. Charlie dreaded that call. But it wasn't his only concern. He was desperate to get this day over. Never, in the seventeen years he was in the force he faced such a terrible felony. Drunken disorderly, sure. A few thefts, some tourists who liked to light a joint where if was forbidden even to smoke regular cigarettes, those were the usual threats. Of course, he faced violence and death, but not like this. And now he was regretting to ask Dr. Clapp's help. He was adamant to let his superior know and to ask for a specialist opinion. He said the amount of venom used was colossal, even if he thought the killer combined at least three different kinds of venom. And then no lab had reported any theft to that scale. One bottle or two, but not the gallons Dr. Clapp suggested. Fortunately, he was busy now with Jessica's bones.

When his phone beeped with another text from Dr. Clapp, he knew he couldn't avoid it anymore.

"Guys, I'm going to call Bella," he grumbled. "I'll be back in a few."

Rosalie wondered why did he have to call her? So she pushed the one who would give her the right answer with the right prodding.

"Really Jacob? Did you finally convinced him to bring her back?"

Jacob huffed and tried to walk to the other side.

"Oh, come on. Why else would the chief call Bella? Oh, wait. Maybe she invited him to her wedding. You know, now that her life is set far away from here."

Jacob was scarlet red, so Rose knew she pushed the right buttons.

"He wants to ask her questions about the body we found! He's calling her as a specialist!"

Rose wasn't aware of the kind of crime they were dealing with. When she came back home, she managed to hear the last of Esme's conversation with Mrs. Cope. Somehow Esme managed to get Mrs. Cope spill all the details of the crimes. Rose didn't have a great relationship with Esme, but she had to admit she had a way to obtain what she wanted and made you feel thankful for helping her, which Mrs. Cope did.

"I heard someone attacked Royce King in his property. They said the body was unrecognizable." Rose heard that Jessica was dead too, but she missed that part of the conversation. Since Esme and Aro fought, the house was divided, one wing for Aro where Rose has her chambers, and the other for Esme and James. Rose couldn't stay for long on Esme's side since she had some visitors at home who could catch her eavesdropping. "What does it have to do with Bella? She studies insects."

Embry decided to intervene, Jacob was about to spill all the details to Rose and he wasn't sure if it was appropriate to let Rose know the gory details. "He needs to call her as part of the investigation. The only way to avoid the call is to know another specialist, which we don't."

"Hmm, so if I knew a man who is a renowned biologist, I could give you his number."

"Do you know someone?" Charlie wasn't so far to avoid listening to Rosalie. If she knew someone, maybe, just maybe, he didn't need to call Bella.

Of course, Rose knew someone. One of the many businesses Aro owned was a botanical remedies store. They had a few biologists on Aro's pocket. It helped to the other side of the store, the one specialized in not so legal remedies.

"Well, Chief, I may have the number of one of those renowned specialists. Now, if you're finished with the search, why don't we go inside. Let me give your boys a glass of lemonade and I'll get in touch with my friend." Rose congratulated herself. That was a brilliant move on her part to get her inside the investigation, without showing interest. And it took the police out of the land.

xxx

Victoria was desperate to get help, but their phones weren't getting any signal, and nobody was in sight.

"Maybe one of us can walk to the nearest house."

"Oh, no. It could be dangerous to leave one of us alone." Bree argued. She didn't want to admit it, but she was scared.

But they got lucky. Caius Bronstein, the owner of the nearest bed and breakfast, saw the accident. He drove to assist them, concerned as he had a young daughter too.

"Hey, do you need help?" He asked from inside his truck. "I own the little B&B that you can see behind those trees. The green one."

It was barely visible but it helped after all, so Bree and Victoria proceeded to explain the accident to Caius. He listened, and while he witnessed the accident from afar, he had the suspicion the girls were high, it was the only explanation to the melting bat. He decided to help them knowing the police was away at Royce King's house. Caius didn't want the girls to get in trouble.

"Look, I'm sure the poor animal probably went to the woods to die. I have a can full of water. Let's clean the blood, take your things, you close your car and I'll take you to my home. You can call your parents from there. My wife will happily cook dinner."

Bree was reticent to the 'cleaning' part but acquiesced. Victoria was more a woman of action, so she dropped the water and deemed the place clean enough. She hoped the poor animal didn't suffer.

xxx

At Micanopy's hospital, Emmett and Edward were back from buying sodas. Jasper was up and still groggy, and a nurse was checking his vitals.

"What's your name, handsome?" The young nurse asked while she was taking his blood pressure.

"JW" Jasper whispered.

"Oh, really. And what does it stand for?" She was scribbling her notes.

"John Wayne." Jasper between giggles, shocking the nurse when he shoot imaginary guns. "Pew, pew."

"He likes to relive his favorite films when doped," Emmett said to the confused nurse. "That's we can't leave him alone."

"Who's John Wayne?" The nurse asked.

Jasper opened his eyes. "You don't know John Wayne? The Duke?"

Edward shushed Jasper and answered to the nurse. "One of the best actors that ever graced the silver screen. He was the best cowboy on film, at least for my friend. Maybe in an hour, he will be Han Solo or the Godfather."

The nurse was finished, so she left the room, hoping to google John Wayne on her break. Maybe he was cute.

"We brought you something," Emmett opened the can of soda and gave it to Jasper.

"Cool man. I was thirsty. The doc said I'm fine, but he wanted to keep me this night just to stay on the safe side." Edward helped Jasper to lift his bed a bit higher, so now he was seated. "Thanks. So, what was that thing?"

"A caterpillar," Edward said.

"No, really. What was it?"

"A caterpillar," Emmett said. "Edward's chick came here to study those bugs. They have one in their lab. It's bigger than the one who attacked you."

Jasper began to laugh. "Be serious! That thing wasn't..." but the serious look on his friends shut him up. "Damn."

xxx

As Tanya predicted, as soon as Jasper was again asleep, Edward left the room and went in search of Bella. She was still busy measuring the changes on Bob.

"Hmm, I hope I'm not interrupting," He said before coming inside the lab. Bella got so nervous, she almost dropped the pad where she was scribbling the results.

"Oh, no. Come in." Bella said blushing. He took a seat in front of the area where Bella was working.

"So, how is Bob?"

"Oh, he's getting bigger. He's a little glutton pig, right?" Bella said with the same voice she would use with a baby. Bob crawled closer to where Bella was standing. "See, he wants another treat, but I think it's enough for today. We don't want you to get sick."

From the back of the lab, Carlisle watched the exchange. He was glad Bella found new friends, but even someone as clueless as him noticed the attraction between those two. He made a vow to keep an eye on the guy, he didn't want Bella to get hurt. Carlisle also noticed that this guy was distracting Bella, so he decided to put him to work.

"Hey, Tony?" Edward nodded to Carlisle, "I'm almost finished with the distillation of the venom, but I need the fridge on the back working. Could you give me a hand?"

Tony was fast to push the fridge closer to a plug and got the fridge to work. "Which temperature will work for you?"

Carlisle got closer with the various vials full of venom. He noticed the easiness with which Tony operated the fridge. Not usual for a construction worker. Then he noticed Tony's hands. They weren't as calloused as they should be. It got him thinking, what if Tony wasn't hat he said? What could he be hiding?


	7. Chapter 6

Esme knew Rosalie was hearing behind the closed door which separated both wings of the house. She heard the click of Rose's heels when she got closer. So when she finally hung up with Mrs. Cope, she invited Alice and Alec to her studio to discuss her what she found.

"And she's the receptionist at the police station?" Alec asked.

"Aha."

"But she isn't a bit discreet, you were on the phone for forty minutes!"

"Well, I had to make a little conversation prior to getting her talkative. And I happen to like to hear about her grandchildren, they're cute." Esme winked. "By the way, Alice owes you those twenty bucks, you were right, there wasn't a gun involved. As a matter of fact, it was something atrocious."

"What?" Alice yelled from the spare room. She was sure the paranoid man got into a fight with a curious tourist. They only got the gist of what happened given they heard only Esme's side of the conversation. Alice was eager to hear the rest. It was her job to be informed.

"According to Mrs. Cope, some crazy man inoculated ginormous amounts of venom or acid, she wasn't sure, to Royce King and Jessica Stanley. The substance liquified Royce's organs and somehow dissolved Jessica's body." Esme said. Who could go to such extreme ways to kill poor Royce, who's only sin was to make his wife life hell? It was too much in Esme's opinion, and the horrified look on Alec confirmed her opinion.

"So much for my theory," Alice said, coming out from the room. She changed into black clothes because she had work to do. "Do you think is safe to do my round tonight?"

Esme shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure, if it was safe I would even accompany you. The only known danger around here at night was to hear Royce sings his old country songs when he got wasted. Aro's dogs love me and never would attack me. But I don't know what to think. Why someone would kill Royce that way?"

Alec shook his head. "Maybe Royce caught something he wasn't supposed to see? After all, we're looking for your husband's wrongdoings, who knows with which kind of people he's used to dealing?"

Esme nodded, after all, that was the reason they were here. Alice and Alec were investigating reporters for the Miami Herald. Alec got a tip that Aro was the head on some online medicine scam, and he wanted to investigate such a prominent figure. When he got to Esme, she was fast to offer her help. If the bastard was keeping her trapped, she was making sure he will fall down in order to get her freedom. So with the ruse of having Alice visiting as the daughter of an old classmate, Alice and Alec were investigating.

"Mrs. Cope mentioned the boys would be patrolling around this area, maybe you can wait for tomorrow?" Esme said to Alice, who was making notes on her phone.

"Ok, so you don't think I'll get the chance to snoop around his office, right?"

Esme shook her head. "Not with Rosalie here. I don't know what is she doing, she usually stays around Aro. I think he's planning something special and she's setting the details for his plan. That's how they work."

Alec just nodded. "I can try to distract her and get her out of the house. I can use my charms." He said wiggling his brows.

"Don't take it wrong, Alec. You're an attractive man, but Rosalie is just in a league of her own. I'd never known of a man she fancied for herself he didn't go and take, and her tastes usually involve a heavy wallet. No, that's not the way we should deal with her; but perhaps we still can manage to get her out of here for a while and distract her. Mrs. Cope mentioned the chief was angry because Bella was back in town. Maybe I can visit her."

"Who's Bella?" Alec asked.

"The stranded daughter of our police chief, and also she used to be Rosalie's best friend while growing up. Maybe she can help with Rosalie, you know?"

"Is she close to Rose?"

"I don't know. Rose said she just stopped talking to her, but somehow, that's not the Bella I used to know. Tomorrow morning I'll go and say hi. You never know who could become your ally."

xxx

When Jasper was passed out for the night, again, Emmett called the Newtons. He was worried his friend would wake up at some point and in his shocked estate would say something he shouldn't. Just imagine to wake up, and found you're doped, alone, in an unknown place. It brought shudders to Emmett. Tanya offered to come to stay with Jasper, but Emmett declined. Between him and Edward could keep a night without sleep to care for Jasper. Then Tanya remembered him that the spare room was free for Dr. Cullen to use it.

With that news, and out of curiosity to see how Edward was faring with the lovely entomologist, Emmett descended to the lab. He thought it was reckless of Edward to look for something with the girl. That relationship was doomed from beginning, he couldn't be honest and then he'll be leaving as soon as the trial started. But Edward was completely besotted, enough to not hear reason.

Only once he was there, he had to burst out laughing. It seemed Dr. Cullen was a great chaperone as he kept Edward working ensembling part of the equipment under his supervision. Miss Bella was sulking in a corner, mumbling something to the bug, which now was as bigger as a Schnauzer.

"Hello! May I come in?" He said while trying to contain his giggles.

Dr. Cullen welcomed him warmly.

"Sure, how is our patient faring?"

"Completely asleep and his foot is back to his normal size. I see Bob is a growing boy." He pointed to the cage.

Bella took a step closer to Emmett and pulled him from his sleeve. "Since my boss is keeping Tony busy, I need your help." She pointed to a big steel surface. "I finally managed to dismantle a cabinet, now just like you said, Bob is growing and his cage is getting too tight for him. So, this will be the floor, those three will be the walls," she pointed to a roll of wire mesh which she already cut on three panels. "I still don't know what to use as the top, but you get the idea. Bob doesn't seem like the climbing type, but better to be safe than sorry, right?"

Emmett nodded but made sure to let know he or Edward would have to leave to check on Jasper later.

xxx

"Interesting," Carlisle mumbled. "Bella, come and look here."

"Sure." She got to where Carlisle was inspecting the spatula they used to lift the other caterpillar's remains.

"It seems our little friends have a different constitution than your average caterpillar. Look how rusted this spatula looks."

Bella's eyes got like saucers. "But Bob hadn't left any marks like those."

"Yes, because Bob is safely tucked inside his cocoon, but our friend here was crushed. I finally disentangled the cocoon from the rest of the caterpillar, thinking its insides would be easier to manipulate without the danger of the venom, but it seems they got another mean of defense."

"What are you talking about, Doc?" Emmett asked.

"They can produce some kind of acid."

"Like Alien," Emmett said.

"Oh no, I can certainly guarantee these creatures come from the Earth," Carlisle said a bit of insulted when the others started to laugh.

"No Boss, he means like the creature of the film 'Alien'. It had acid instead of blood."

"Well, this isn't accurate. These caterpillars produce the acid as a defense, or to help them with their food. It comes from the, the mouth." He said, considering his audience was inexperienced.

"So they can bite?"

"Hmm, sort of. They munch on the food, their jaw it's more like a pincer." Bella tried to explain. "Your look like a hairy cat because it was younger, the amount of fur grows until they are completely covered under the cocoon, so they can... morph."

"So, are you saying the one we found was a young one?"

"Almost a baby. I don't even think Bob is quite old either."

"We need to find where are they coming from. Tomorrow we'll go back to where they found Bob." Carlisle said. "This could get out of hand really quickly."

xxx

Dr. Clapp made a big discovery. The reason why Jessica's body was damaged like that, was because something like a plier cut her ankle. While Royce was inoculated with an injection, a tiny pinch on his neck; on the other hand, something like a claw cut through Jessica's ankle, giving her body the chance to absorb the triple of venom. Well, and a new substance he couldn't determine. It was like some kind of acid, but it was out of his reach to determine which kind while he worked with the equipment he had at his lab. It was urgent to let someone else know because they needed help. Clapp had an old acquaintance on one of the FBI labs, and maybe if he mentioned the case he could get curious and get to help him. God knows that chief Swan was waiting for the chance to bury this case as a drunken accident and forge the paperwork. He didn't have any pride in his work.

"Hello, Marcus?" And speak of the devil, "Just the man I wanted to talk. I got a curious case and I wanted to discuss a few strange details, you have more experience in biochemistry than me. Yep, well, there are a couple of bodies with strange features..."

xxx

Caius wife, Sulpicia, helped those girls that night. You could see, at first sight, they were homely girls, not like the usual college girls who came by. Partying and drinking, and the clothes they wore!. But these girls were quite nice.

Sulpicia heard when they called their parents and saw that after the explanations and confirmations that they were fine, came the scolding for not being more careful on the road. It was comforting to hear Bree's parents were kind enough to settle a tow truck to come for the car the next day.

Sulpicia offered them the rooms for free until they planned what to do next. They were still shaken and worried about the poor animal.

She drove them, along with the tow truck, to the side of the road where the car remained. Last night the girls left a note on the windshield in case the police came around, but they never received a call, just like Caius thought.

They got to where the car was abandoned.

"Oh my God! you really hit it hard. We have to take you to the hospital later." Sulpicia worried because she knew this kind of injuries come by later when the shock vanished.

The man of the tow truck had other words. "Oh shit! Girls, what did you hit? An elephant?" He asked as he rounded the car. He noticed something odd on the floor but Victoria was fast to derail his attention. She still remembered the melting bat.

"So, you won't have a problem taking it to the mechanic shop?"

"Hmm, I believe this one goes straight to the junkyard. I don't think it's fixable. But we can take some pictures so you can settle it with the insurance company. They'll need the police report, but as busy as they are, we'll have to manage with the pictures."

The man was fast to pull the chains and moved the car onto his truck while Caius took Sulpicia and the girls to look around for the animal's body, but it wasn't in the nearby area.

"Maybe you just spooked it."

"See Bree, you aren't an animal murderer." Victoria giggled.

"Thanks heaven. I couldn't live with the thought of a suffering animal for my carelessness."

xxx

Meanwhile, the poor caterpillar kept crawling. Its instincts draw it to find a dark place where it could rest. The car just managed to barely scratch its cocoon and now it felt like it was time to change. While they usually just found a branch where they attach the cocoon, with the size this caterpillar grew, a cave would be a better place to spin its cocoon. Soon it found its objective. Now its transformation just began.

xxx


	8. Chapter 7

Tanya took the guys to the dinner, happy to see Jasper completely recovered. She was enjoying to hear about the guys adventures at the lab, with Carlisle trumping all of Edward's attempts to talk to Bella.

"Maybe the old Doctor harbors indecent thoughts of his pupil," Tanya said.

"Nah. He's more like one of those overprotective fathers. You should've seen his proud face when Bella discovered how the caterpillars eject the spines. She's really bright."

"I swear, when he started his tirade over how good it was to have people caring about your well-being, he was looking to Edward while wielding a scalpel then he stabbed the cocoon in a way that made Edward pale." Jasper cackled. He was released really early in the morning so he spent a few hours at the lab, hearing and was happy to feel his foot back to normal. He still was having a hard time concealing in his brain that the caterpillars were real.

"Now boys, go back to sleep. I know you spent the whole night awake, so suit yourself. I promise to wake you up if something relevant happens." Tanya pushed the guys back to the apartment upstairs. She had a lot to do since their plans were thwarted by the accident. She also was waiting for Michael, who was having a serious talk to Dr. Webber about this Bella and Dr. Cullen. They came clean but now Michael was worried about the personal aspect. He just found out she was 'besties' with Rosalie Hale in her youth. That Isabella Swan could be a great trouble, if only Edward fancied any other girl in town! Meanwhile, they had Dr. Carlisle Cullen taking a bath and hopefully sleeping in their spare room. It was the best way to keep an eye on him.

"You know, you don't have to worry about Bella. She's one of the best girls I've ever known," Sue, the waitress, said to Tanya.

"But her father and Rosalie! She wasn't surrounded by reliable people."

Sue shook her head. "Charlie became an ass when his wife died. He blamed Bella though the only thing Bella did was to care for Renee. It wasn't like Bella gave Renee cancer. Poor kid was only eleven, it was so sad. And Rosalie, well, she's Rosalie. I never understood their friendship, they're polar opposites. Anyway, I would bet my life on her."

Sue really wasn't aware of the kind of guests the Newtons accepted, but she knew it was important to keep them from the people in town. But Bella was a trustworthy woman, who fought tooth and nail to get where she was today. She wouldn't mess with whatever business the Newtons were conducting. the Newton's should give her a chance.

xxx

Esme was quick to get to the hospital, she hoped to find Bella still in there. Mrs. Cope said she was staying at Dr. Webber's home, but the news about Bella working at the hospital traveled fast.

Sure enough, Bella was coming out of the building, a duffel bag in hand.

"Isabella Swan! What a surprise!" Esme beamed at Bella, who looked a bit ragged after a whole night working at the hospital lab.

"Esme Volturi?"

"Hi! Oh, you look so... mature. It's been so long. Let me take you for brunch, you have to tell me what have you been doing all these years." As Esme greeted Bella, she pushed to her car, really eager to have a long heart to heart with her. And she got away with it because Bella was too tired to argue, and everybody knew you couldn't argue with Esme Volturi. It was fruitless.

xxx

Not so far away, a young man was driving his car on the highway. His troubled mind pushed him to trespass a limit he never thought he would: He was stalking his ex-girlfriend Bree, and in order to get her back, he drove all the way to Micanopy.

No one could say that Quill Ateara wasn't a man that quit easily. No, sir. He had planned what he expected from his life since he was twelve, and he worked his ass to achieve said goals. So he busted his ass to get out of her hometown of Forks in Washington, a blip that usually went under the radar, and he got a full ride scholarship to the glorious University of Florida. Now, he was to become an MD, about to enroll to the next step in his life which involved moving to New York. It was a no-brainer for him, he had to move. But one person dared to put a strain on his plans. Damn Bree and her stubborn ass! He knew she was getting tired of him, claiming he was too controlling. Controlling? He showed her time and time again how detailed his plans for the future were, and in the beginning, she agreed with him. Those plans would only work if they kept following them. The offer from New York was the proof. But she suddenly didn't think it was a good idea, then she failed to accomplish his plans. If she just put the damn ten hours daily to her studies instead of wasting her spare time she would have an offer too.

Then she dared to broke up with him, which was a stupid decision. He was on his way to success and Bree was so shortsighted to dump him in the middle of the ride. Firstly he felt disappointed. He was offering her the chance to stand out. She was pretty and smart, which were qualities he deemed desirable in a future wife, the sex was pretty awesome too. Then her family was a normal suburb-living, middle-class family, white picket fence ad all. Refreshing after the long years suffering his alcoholic mother and the abandon of his father. So why did she have to ruin it? It made his disappointment turning into anger. Who did she think she was to put a strain on his perfectly laid plans?

Then, after more thought on his part, he knew he had to fight to get her back. No one rejected the mighty Quill Ateara, a man of a strong will and determination. This was just a bump in the road. He knew he had to talk to Bree and make her see how stupid she was for leaving him. He couldn't avoid to give himself a nod of recognition because he invested in setting a GPS on her car, so he knew she came to Micanopy. Better yet, he knew on which part of the highway she spent the night, given that the car was at a car shop at this moment. He thought a brief survey of the place where her car broke before facing her was a good idea. Then he could come as the knight in shining armor to her rescue, offering the best advice for future unsupervised outings. Yeah, it was no fail plan.

So he drove the part of the highway where her car broke. He parked his car at the side of the road, happy to find it almost deserted. Certainly there were traces of the accident, as tiny pieces of plastic from the car were strewn around the floor. He decided to walk closer to the side of the road, where the thick woods probably offered Bree cover. As he got closer to the trees, the floor started to shake. Could this be an earthquake? Then he was surprised when a group of animals came running fast like a stampede to where his car stood, pushing it to the side and into the woods. The animals were large as bears, with brownish and gray fur. On a more detailed look, they weren't running, more like crawling fast.

"Shoo! Stay away!" He tried to scare them, but the majority of the group was deep into the woods by now. He walked to his car to ascertain the damage when two stranded animals passed by his side. He blanded the flashlight on his hand to scare them, but the animals were in a hurry and just passed over him, giving the last one a chance to munch on his arm to keep him out of the way.

His last lucid thought before fading away was that maybe he had to concede there were always things the mighty Quill Ateara couldn't control.

xxx

Far away from Micanopy, Aro Volturi was about to leave his business dinner. He only attended as support for his son James, who was finally achieving a bit of success in his business endeavor.

James managed to close a business with the Chinese embassy and he offered to take them all to Micanopy. The plan was to make an annual festival honoring Chinese culture. Very clever given the road their legal business enterprise. People would love their botanical products better if they could add the 'ancient Chinese remedy' label.

Also, James brought a girlfriend for the first time. Her name was Lauren and Aro immediately noticed she only was interested in James' wallet. He made a note to settle a really tight prenup.

While he mingled with the clients and their wives, he received a call from Rosalie. She explained with detail what happened at Micanopy, stating how worried she was if their retarded police linked all those deaths to one of the substances they produced, but stated how she brought one of their specialists to erase any kind of potential relation between their botanical remedies and the deaths. Aro offered to get back, but Rose said she was managing. Aro thought it was far fetched, how could someone link an attack with massive venom with one of their remedies? Rosalie was exaggerating, but that's why he appreciated her. She always was two steps ahead.

Aro smiled while he recalled the way he started his most profitable endeavor. He already owned various hotels, then when he brought the preserves packing factory. It was a big boom two counties ahead, but he wanted to bring something back to Micanopy. That's when he created the little botanical remedies store, which unbeknownst to everyone really held the labs for his most profitable endeavor: the illegal medicines.

It all started when of Esme's friends was desperate to lose weight. She went and bought an egg of Taenia solum better known as pork tapeworm. Of course, she lost weight, but when she was about to die, they discovered the parasite. She barely saved her life but her desperation gave Aro an idea. Why not produce those kinds of medicine? People were desperate to lose weight, to find their passion again, to be attractive to the other sex. Hell, one of his best selling products was the one who offered to make boobs bigger. Then he had those muscle enhancers and the more expensive were those who promised to help you concentrate better. It was a goldmine.

Alas, in the preparation of those substances, sometimes he made mistakes. And he had to get rid of the evidence. He made the mistake once to just drop the waste near his lab. He had the environmentalists over and god if they managed to pin him with a gigantic fine. Now, he was more careful and only let James get rid of those wastes. He was clever enough to drop them where nobody would find it.

Now, what to do with his new money-hungry girlfriend? He was sure she was one of those who poked holes into condoms to guarantee a juicy alimony, and if he wasn't careful she would snag James before he could prevent it. god knows what other things she could figure out!

"Dad, are you ready to go back home? We need to set the details for the first Chinese culture festival." James beamed in hopes to get Aro's approval.

"Sure, let me call Rosalie to let her know of our plans."

"Be sure to ask Mom to be present, you know she can always play her magic to get these guys to invest." For the first time in his life, James was sure he gained his father's approval.

xxx

Esme's brunch wasn't what Bella expected. Firstly Esme was pushing her to reconcile with Rosalie, which will never happen. And then, when Bella made it clear she didn't have any reason to even greet Rosalie, Esme backpedaled and asked for any kind of information Bella had on Rosalie.

"You know we hadn't had a word in five years, right?" Bella asked annoyed. She hated the fact that Esme was trying to use her against Rose, but she couldn't act the way she wanted because she needed Esme's help to let the town know about the caterpillars.

Esme felt conflicted. She was sure Bella knew things about Rose, but Bella seemed to have left Micanopy so far behind, that any of Rose's wrongdoings wouldn't matter. That was the moment Esme decided to come clean with Bella about Aro and Rose, the bit she knew of; in hopes that Bella would help her to get rid of both of them.

She even promised to help Bella to post signs about the caterpillar all over the town.


	9. Chapter 8

Esme Volturi was reflecting on her talk with Bella Swan and she was sad to admit it was disappointing. After their heart to heart, where she shared a lot of her suffering while staying on Aro's side, Bella only told her that Rose betrayed her trust. She hinted it was because of a boy, though she left out the specifics, giving Esme the idea that it totally Rose's fault and knowing her selfish ways Esme didn't have a doubt. Then Bella shared she really lost all contact with Micanopy after that.

Meanwhile, Aro asked her to support James in his endeavor. They wanted to make a Chinese Culture Festival so they were bringing a few possible sponsors next weekend! Like all the people in town would bow and bend their schedules to accommodate Aro's wishes. Well, really they were James' wishes. She only offered to help him to settle a few activities, because what he had in mind was completely impossible to accomplish with so little time.

When she got back home, Alice wasn't around, leaving Alec taking a nap. Great, at least now she had time for planning a tour around town with James' guests.

xxx

Mrs. Rachel, the classic old crazy cat lady, was honoring her description as Lucky, her old tabby cat, went missing. She was scared one of those high school hooligans hurt him as they loved to throw stones to her garden to scare her cats.

Her home was on the outskirts of town, leaving her close to the preserved park. People always asked her if she never got scared, but she loved the quietness and her cats were a good company as they usually perked their ears when someone was coming closer to her home. So she felt secure. And you know how curious cats are, which brought us back to Lucky being missing.

Rachel found odd that the woods were now quieter than before. Not even the chirping of the crickets. It was eerily quiet. Maybe that made Lucky to venture out of the house. God knows how old and fat he was getting, so his days of hunt and wandering around were gone. But Rachel walked to the woods, following the trail near the park entrance that passed beside the cave.

She found the cat close to the cave, meowing at a tree full of bats. It was weird they weren't hiding in the cave.

"Lucky! Come here!" She ran to get her cat, who came back limping as he had one paw swollen. "Where were you? Look at your paw, now we have to go to the vet." Then she turned her sight to the tree. "Why are you here? You like darker places." She said like the bats could understand her.

xxx

Charlie Swan was sweating and it wasn't because of the heat. He was waiting for Aro Volturi to welcome him into his office. As much as he hated Rosalie, she was easier to talk to than Aro, and the way she managed to help him with the two murder cases last week was proof of it. He knew he had to let Aro know not only the information he had but how thanks to Rosalie's intervention the case was closed as nobody accepted losing such a quantity of venom so they avoided interference and meddling from others. The funeral was held the day before, and the fact that the coffins were closed gave room to a lot of speculation. The principal rumor was that Jessica and Royce left town and that Emily would claim he was dead so she could keep the farm to her name. Apparently, Royce annoyance with his life was known around town, as Jessica's yearning for leaving town whatever way she found.

"Ah, our beloved chief of police! Come, and take a seat!" Aro opened his door and welcomed him. He was in a good mood so Charlie relaxed. "Do you want something to drink? I can call Rose to bring us water or coffee."

Charlie shook his head and thanked him.

"Well, what brings you to my office, Chief? I hope everything is fine in town."

"Hmm, I'm not sure if Rosalie mentioned to you about the unfortunate losses of Royce King and Jessica Stanley."

"Oh, right. Though the rumor around town is that Royce got tired of Emily's nagging ways and left town with a younger model. Such a pathetic attempt to recover his lost youth." Aro said with disgust.

"Well, that's completely false. I won't go out of my way clearing the rumors, but in reality, we found the bodies in such a state that it wasn't possible to get the remains inside the coffins. Besides, Dr. Clapp thought it was better to cremate the remains."

Aro hummed, clearly interested in what Charlie was informing him. Rose didn't have the details when she told him the story.

"Here, these are the pictures of the remains." Charlie showed Aro the decomposed mass that was once Royce King and the few bones and head of Jessica Stanley. Aro scrunched his nose.

"Certainly the closed casquet funeral was the right decision. Any clues on how they got that way?"

Charlie gulped. "Dr. Clapp said it was a venom, but the scientist Rosalie helped us to contact, was more specific and now we think Royce crashed his car while he was transporting a new brand of fertilizer among other chemical substances, making them combine resulting in that level of decomposition as we found the bodies until the morning after." Charlie knew it was a lie, but what other explanation he could offer? He got so happy when Clapp suggested cremating the remains for safety. He wanted to make sure this issue won't be coming back to bite him in the ass in the future, and Aro's support could make the difference.

"And you say the bodies are already cremated."

"Yes. It happened last night, after the funeral. Mrs. Stanley was adamant to bury her daughter's head and bones, but we finally convinced her it was for the best."

Aro nodded but remained quiet for a minute, which brought back the sweat on Charlie.

"Yes, it was for the best, no need to bring more pain to the families. Let the people talk, who cares what do they think?" Charlie nodded at the silent order to keep the real story hidden. It was for the best. "Now, I have big plans for the town and I may need your help. My son James had the bright idea of creating a new festival for our town. We will be flooded by tourist for a couple of days, and this time, we have the support of the Chinese embassy, to show the marvels of their culture. You know dances, folklore, food, real Chinese food. I was hoping the to bring a few sponsors next weekend so they assess the possibilities our town brings."

While Aro was used to speak so charming like this to his potential business partners, Charlie knew what he was really telling him under those words.

"I only know of the kid's center party, but they'll be happy to accommodate your needs because Esme is the one organizing the party."

"Perfect. So, I'm sure you'll help me to keep any disturbance away from my guests, right?"

Charlie nodded.

"I knew I could count on you. Ah, don't worry about Royce and Jessica. I'm sure people will tire of the rumors soon. No need to stir the waters when we have bigger plans in our horizon. Anything else?"

Charlie thought for a second to mention the abandoned car on the highway, but why bother? Better wait to see if there was someone new in town.

xxx

While Esme was trying to convince Bella to help her, Alice decided to use her charms on Rose. Considering Rose believed her a spoiled debutante, she followed Rose around in the morning, trying to make her go with Alice somewhere to have 'fun' in town.

"But you most be bored to tears, I mean, what do you do for fun around here?" Alice whined while Rose rolled her eyes. What Rose didn't know was that Alice was playing her, in hopes to find when Rose wouldn't be around.

"Well, we have Gainesville close. All Micanopy has to offer are antique shops and I'm sure you're not looking for a piece of quaint furniture."

Rose's phone rang and he excused herself but Alice remained close enough to hear Rose. She even had one of tose tiny trinkets to aid hearing.

"Of course Aro, I'll speak with the council to ask permission. I think your idea is great, but a bit rushed." Rose was pacing and making notes in a little pad she was carrying around. "So it was Jame's idea... well the timing it's what worries me. Sure, I can ask our hotels to cancel and set everything for your guests. How many are coming?"

Alice tried to turn up the volume, but she couldn't hear the caller's voice.

"Well, I'll try to set everything. I'll call you in a couple of hours with the information I managed." She closed the little pad. "Esme? Well, she's occupied with the tiny debutant from hell. You know her, Esme is always searching for charity cases. I'm sure her friend sent her daughter so Esme could set the kid right. Yep, she asked me if I knew where to have fun. Of course, fun means alcohol. It's a college girl, what else would she want? You want me to what?" Rose's voice sounded outraged. "Well, maybe if I manage to get her Esme to prepare a speech, it will take this girl off of me. Yeah, I'll set the rooms for your guests and I'll get Esme to arrange a tour in town. Sure, I'll call you later."

While Rose congratulated herself for taking care of Alice annoying presence, Alice clearly got the upper hand, knowing Rose will be out of the house for the next few hours.

xxx

Esme was curious about the bugs. Bella offered a guided tour and a complete explanation after she got some sleep. But Esme was known for her impatience, so while Alice went to search on Aro's office, Alec helped Esme to get inside the lab.

Most of the equipment were turned off, and while they went inside in the middle of the day, it was dark inside the lab.

Alec walked to the back where he found a cage with a lump of fur inside.

"Esme, I think she's joking. They only have a dog in here."

The lump woke and moved a bit, spiking Alec's curiosity. He was a sucker for animals and wanted to pet the poor thing. He stretched his arm to pass his hand through the bars but Esme was fast to stop him an inch before he touched Bob.

"What if it's true? I can't risk your health. Besides, maybe the poor dog is angry for being caged."

As Esme talked, Bob turned around and crawled to Alec, hoping to get his third breakfast of the day.

"Oh shit, Esme!" Alec whispered yelled. Esme just gave one look to the creature and ran to get out of the lab, followed closely by Alec.

"You have to bring me back when this Bella gives you the tour around the lab. A picture of this creature will be worth thousands!"

xx

Jacob and Embry were patrolling along the highway to Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, just like Charlie asked them to. It was always the same when he had a meeting with Aro Volturi, he got them out of the way before giving them their new instructions.

Now that the hassle of Royce and Jessica's deaths was gone, Jacob had to admit he was bored. Could Bella still be hanging around town or could she be back home? He got so busy he didn't have the chance to ask Mrs. Cope. And she wasn't so forthcoming to his questions about Bella.

"Emb, do you think my chance with Bella is gone?" He asked, making Embry stop the car. How could someone answer without getting Jacob angry?

"I think your lives are too different to even consider it a possibility." There, he said it.

"Why? Because I'm a poor small town police officer?" Jacob was getting angry, he had such a short fuse.

Embry huffed before answering. "No, more like you have too different interest. Just imagine Bella agrees to be in a relationship with you. What would you expect her to do?"

"To marry me, and be at home. She can raise my kids."

Embry shook his head. "Are we talking about Isabella Swan? Because she's quite the opposite. You are aware of her love for science. Don't take it wrong, but she's fine working at that university. She would never be happy holed in this town. Tell me, what's her favorite movie?"

"That's an easy one, she loved when we watched the little mermaid."

Embry just started to laugh. "She was like five! You don't know a thing about adult Bella. If you're really interested in her, why don't you start trying to be her friend?"

Jacob considered Embry's idea for a minute. Maybe he was right, Jacob was coming too forward to her and maybe she was too shy. Perhaps if he invited her for a beer on Friday night...

"Look!" Embry pushed him to look through the window.

There was a disturbance at the park, there was a stampede going on.

"Somebody let his cows loose," Jacob said as he wouldn't imagine what else could be going on. But as they got closer, they realized they weren't cows running wildly to the cave.


	10. Chapter 9

_"Look!" Embry pushed him to look through the window._

 _There was a disturbance at the park, there was a stampede going on._

 _"Somebody let his cows loose," Jacob said as he wouldn't imagine what else could be going on. But as they got closer, they realized they weren't cows running wildly to the cave._

"Should we stop them?" Embry asked, wondering what kind of animal they were dealing with.

"Nah. Let's contact the park rangers, probably those are a new specimen of bison roaming free from the park." Jacob answered to Embry as he was already on his radio. It took him some time to hear from one of the rangers who promised to check but confirmed Jacob's suspicions about a bison since the ranger said the animals at the park were quite nervous lately.

Once they considered the subject cleared, they got back on the way to town. This time, Jacob drove and Embry was looking at the scenery.

"You know, I got really scared of those animals. They were too shaggy to be cows or bears." Embry said, a bit ashamed of getting scared; Jacob just laughed. Embry watched too many sci-fi movies.

"I have to give you that the way they run was funny. Like they had really short legs and they were hurt. I considered going down the road to watch them closely." And with that statement Jacob turned on the radio, listening to some soft rock song, while Embry continued to watch around. They were driving through Royce King's land. The own land seemed to miss its owner, as the grass seemed crumpled and unkempt. On a closer look, Embry noticed that there were many patches without greenery.

"Emily is the worst farm owner. Less than a week without Royce and look how she let the land worsen."

"I heard she wants to sell the farm, no reason to stay here when Riley is moving out too," Jacob said without looking to where Embry was pointing. It was perfect for Embry, who thought there was a pattern of the patches... and his crazy theory about aliens coming to Micanopy came back with force. Firstly, those bodies, who nobody with a brain would believe were melted because of the fertilizer; then the strange patterns left on the plantation. But there was no way he would tell Jacob or the Chief, those two mocked him enough. No, maybe if he talked to someone more inclined to listen, like Bella. She was a scientist after all, and she went to face her father with some story about a plague or something like that. Jacob wasn't so forthcoming to share what really went down with her. Yep, tomorrow morning he would go to visit Bella.

xxx

Noah Jones and Lewis Frankston were throwing rocks to the back of the road while they shared a few beers near the cave. They were bored.

"That damn cat could really run for an old ball of fur," Noah said.

"Yeah, too damn weird the others were inside the house. Are you sure we can't break a window? It isn't like someone would believe Old Rachel."

"Nah. We could get caught. Haven't you seen how the police are patrolling around town since Jessica's 'death'." He used air quotes to make sure Lewis knew his opinion on their friend's disappearance.

"Well, we all knew she was itching to leave. She blew me a few times just for a night out of town, but Dad didn't lend me the car too often to take it with her further."

"Really? She never offered anything to me, and let me tell you, Dad sent me out of town frequently for supplies."

"Poor virgin boy. Probably it was when she was dating Riley. Before him, she jumped at the chance to get away even if it was for one day. Well, the prick paid the price. She left with his Dad. No doubt that's why they are leaving town."

"Riley got the scholarship before." Noah then turned and decided to throw a bigger rock to the cave. He loved to scare the bats, and maybe if he was lucky, they would shit on Lewis.

Plop! One rock went but nothing happened.

"You throw like a toddler. Here, let me show you how a man throws a rock." Lewis got a bigger rock and took two steps back to gain momentum and threw it far into the cave.

This time, they only heard a bump.

"Sure, 'let me show you how a man throws'," Noah mocked Lewis with a girlish voice. "My little sister would have done it better."

He walked to the back of their truck and found a broken brick. "This is how it's done."

He threw it with all the force he could get so the brick got deep inside the cave; but instead of bats flying out scared, the disgruntled caterpillar who got hit by the brick crawled out. In its wake, it made a couple of caterpillars follow it.

"Shit! What's this?"

"I don't know man. Let's run."

But in their inebriated state, their legs weren't moving the way they wanted. And those caterpillars were hungry, really hungry. Those plants and leaves weren't satisfying enough, so when the chance arose, they tried a new kind of food. Noah's arm seemed tasty enough to give it a try.

"Aargh!"

The little mouth claws of the caterpillar munched and their venom dissolved what was left of Noah. This was the moment the caterpillar decided those annoying nosy moving things were tastier than the immobile green ones. Everybody should give them a try, as it seemed they were very common around here.

xxx

"Really Angela?"

"Yep, I noticed it when I did my round after lunch. Someone got inside the lab. Nothing seemed moved but you know how OCD I am, I left a few things in certain order and they weren't like I left them before. Anyway, I just wanted you to know. But you'll be glad to hear that Bob ate its whole lunch the three times I went to visit. It's a shame we can't pet it, Bob is quite cute."

Bella shook her head, smiling. Bob stole her heart too. Bella was dreading the day they'll have to leave Micanopy as that day Bob's future would become uncertain. Carlisle would dispose of its body as they didn't have enough space in the lab to keep him. If his growing rate slowed enough, she could keep it in her apartment. But it was too soon to worry.

"So, how are things going with the pretty boy?"

Bella sighed. "Meh, they aren't going. Carlisle and the Newtons are cockblocking any chance we have to talk. It's like they don't want us to be together."

"Yeah, I've noticed Carlisle is a bit wary."

"Pfft, wary? I'm sure the man follows Tony to the bathroom."

Angela nodded, she witnessed how Carlisle almost threw Bella out of the dinner as soon as Anglea came back to get her.

"A bit protective, right?"

"Believe me, I protested. Carlisle spent so much time glaring at Tony, that he missed when MC and I found what we hope could be an antidote to their venom."

"But doesn't the effect is immediate?"

"Well, if you have to choose between losing just an appendix or dying, I guess we can work fast if we want to save some lives."

Angela noticed someone wandering on her lawn. She got up and walked to the closest window to find out Tony nervously pacing.

"I believe you're about to get lucky today." She said, and Bella walked to her side just when Edward finally found the courage to knock on the door.

xxx

Embry and Jacob were finally back after one lousy day patrolling around town. Chief Swan was in an awful mood but he encouraged them to leave, so the guys took the chance before he changed his mind. Jacob was thinking that maybe, just maybe, Embry was right. He needed to take baby steps with Bella. So he offered Mrs. Cope a ride home so in the way he hoped to find answers about Bella's whereabouts. A beer on Friday seemed so right.

Meanwhile, Embry didn't want to waste time, he heard early in the morning that Bella was staying with her friend Dr. Webber. So up to the doctor's home he went.

xxx

"Is it fine if I talk to you here? Your boss is a bit overwhelming and..."

"And he doesn't give you the chance to have a word with me," Bella answered, motioning him to come inside the house. "Well, as you know this is my friend Angela's home." She pointed to Angela who was surreptitiously climbing the stairs.

"Don't mind me. I'm taking a bath and then going to sleep. Nice to see you, Tony." Angela said but then she ran to her room to give the lovebirds a chance to be alone.

Bella looked at Tony, nervously wriggling her hands. "Do you want water? Coffee? Tea?"

"Eh, no thanks." Edward was just as nervous too. He was pulling his hair with his hands, leaving it more disheveled if it was possible.

"Hmm, well." Bella stuttered.

"Oh, well, I wanted to talk to you. Look, I know the way we met wasn't ideal, least now that your boss is aware of my intentions and clearly he disapproves. But I want to know you, you know? Because I like you. You seem compassionate and very patient, I mean, the way you treat the poor caterpillar and how you explained to Harry to not play with it, and you're so beautiful!"

Bella blushed at his ramblings. "I'd like to know you too." When she motioned him to sit on the couch, he stopped mid air and took something from inside his fleece.

"Oh, I forgot. This is for you." He took out a daisy, a bit crumpled but still holding its beauty. "I'd like to bring you something better, but you see, I had to escape your boss and mine. Michael doesn't want me to pursue anything with you too, but Tanya is nice and a romantic and she helped me. This flower was part of her roof garden. I also had to hide my plans from the boys, because they can't keep their mouths closed and they love to tease me."

Bella smiled and took the flower gingerly.

"Thanks."

"I want you to know something, though. I can't be completely honest about certain aspects of my life, right now." Edward noticed how Bella frowned after his statement. "But I promise, to be honest with you with everything else. I can assure you I'm a single man, with no ties to anyone as my only family is living across the sea."

"But then why the need for secrecy? Why can't you be completely honest?" She looked at him with pleading eyes. "Is it something illegal?"

"Oh no. I can't be... I swear to you, it's nothing illegal or something that could make you ashamed of being seen with me."

"But at the moment, you can't tell me everything, right?"

"The mere fact of me telling you I can't be honest could get me in trouble. But I'm willing to take the risk, just to get acquainted with the beautiful entomologist with the golden heart." Edward said as he got closer to Bella. She couldn't resist anymore seeing the sincerity in his eyes. Her hands went up to bring his face closer, he didn't need more encouragement. He kissed her with all his might.

xxx

Embry managed to get to Dr. Webber's home quite fast. He was hoping Bella was still awake so he could discuss his awkward findings without the prying ears of Jacob or the chief. As he got close to the door, he heard a male voice talking to Bella. He stopped, worried Jacob got here first. He walked slowly to the closest window and dared to look through it.

Jacob thought it would be better to leave his car around the corner, just in case the chief decided to make look around at night. In his mind, he was positive Bella would agree to his invitation for beers to talk about old times. He was even considering to add the dreaded ' as friends' like that was a possibility for him and Bella.

He looked up and found Embry looking through the window. Jacob wasn't ready to let anyone stand between him and his chances with true love.

Embry noticed Jacob coming towards him, and he wondered who was the lucky guy inside kissing Bella.

Jacob comes barreling and pushes Embry out of the window, as he's about to demand Embry's reason to be here, he also sees Bella kissing Edward.

"That bastard!"


	11. Chapter 10

Back at the Volturi's home, Aro is sharing his plans to show Micanopy to Esme, as he's completely aware of her superb planning skills.

"But you don't think it would be ready in a month?"

Esme shook her head. "Of course not. You're bringing a few sponsors this weekend, right? Then, we have to plan the potential date with the council. The whole town needs to be involved." When Aro was about to protest, Esme continued. "Look, James sent me his plans and what he expect from the festival. This could be huge if we really plan it and involve the community." She was also expecting to gain time for her own plans. "When is James coming back? He mentioned a girl."

"Don't get your hopes up high. She's an opportunist of the worst kind. Just wait to meet her. Look, I know we don't meet eye to eye in many, many things, but this is about our son. I want to find a way to end it."

"That bad?"

"Just wait and see."

Esme thought about it for a second, and suddenly she saw a new plan. "Guess who's back in town? Bella Swan, James' first love."

xxx

James was happy to get back home. He was hoping Lauren liked Micanopy as she was used to big cities. Lauren, on the other hand, was trying to hide her distaste until she saw the Volturi's mansion.

"Wow! So this is your home?"

"Yep, this is where I grew up." He said as he opened the door. Inside, Chief Swan was waiting for him.

"Hmm, Lau, do you mind if I have a chat with the Chief? I'm sure he wouldn't be here if it wasn't something important. Why don't you take a look at my parent's library, I'm sure you'll find it interesting."

So he left Lauren roaming around while he had a talk with the Chief.

Charlie seemed relieved to finally talk to James. There are things he won't ever discuss with Rose or Aro if he could avoid it and the abandoned car was one of them.

After a few pleasantries, he told James about Jessica and Royce, the way the case was finally closed, and sadly mentioned the abandoned car. Charlie mentioned he found who was the owner but there aren't reports of him missing. He tried to contact his family at Forks, but it seemed Quill didn't have a close relationship with his mother and she was only interested if there was a reward involved.

Charlie asked if this Quill disappearance has something to do with Aro's plans, but James explains to Charlie that they never heard of Quill before, and asked him to remain calm. Maybe it was a prank, the guy was in college, right?

xxx

Inside the house, Lauren was high-fiving herself for landing James, as he was filthy rich. She wandered around the gigantic living room that separated the house in two wings and started to make plans to dispose of certain furniture she thought was old. She just needed to secure James' proposal. Then Rose came walking around. Lauren feeling threatened by Rose's stance and beauty was fast to call her as she was the maid. Better to make the blond know her place around here now that Lauren was home.

"My bags need to be brought to my bedroom," Lauren said snapping her fingers.

Rose just quirked a brow and glared at Lauren.

"So? Your hands seem to work fine. Go and take them upstairs." She turned around as she had a busy day.

"Don't you dare to talk to me like that. Don't you know who I am?" Lauren screeched. She had to make this blond know who was the boss around here.

Rose again, knew she had the upper hand. This must be James' girlfriend, and Aro was right. She was a golddigger. And not a bright one.

"Not really, but in this house, everybody cooperates. It's the only way we can work. I'm sure you are the one who doesn't know who I am so I'm going to clear it for you. I'm Aro's right hand, and obviously, I held more power in my pinky that you'll ever imagine. I'm way up higher than your boyfriend. So, I'll be clear again, take your bags and drop them in James' room. It's on that wing, the last room on the left."

Too bad for Lauren, Rose had enough confidence to back her threats. Lauren was still unsure of the place she held in James' heart. Still, she had to say something.

"I'm so going to tell James." Lauren glared at Rose.

"You do so, please. Toodles!"

Lauren, completely humiliated, decided to get her things up in their room. She had to find a way to get rid of the blond. 'Just wait 'til James hear the way she treated me' she thought.

xxx

Bella was mortified at the lab, still shocked of what could happen if Angela didn't intervene with Jacob and Embry. She was the one who put them in their place as demanded Jacob to leave. Clearly, he still believed Bella owed him something, as he threatened to kill Tony. Angela was so right to hide Tony until Jacob and Embry were gone. Embry came back next day to apologize, and asked Bella for a chance to talk about the strange things that were happening. He couldn't stay longer as Charlie was calling him on the radio, but Bella agreed to have him to dinner at night.

"So what do you think of my plan?" Carlisle asked.

"I think it will be fine, but if we accept the help the guys are offering we could find the nest faster."

Carlisle wanted to start to search for the nest where the eggs were laid. I mean, Bob had to come from somewhere, right? Now that they had a few techniques to handle the caterpillars, their sting and a way to contain them, just like Bob. Tanya offered their help as the guys finished their 'work day' after lunch as she noticed a few girls from town trying to catch their attention, something they must avoid at all cost. It was enough with Bella, and luckily she would leave town soon.

But Carlisle wasn't so ready to accept their help.

"Think about it. Six more eyes to help us. We can cover all the area surrounding town in one day. We can start wondering inside the preserve tomorrow!"

xxx

Rose went to Caius hotel, the last one on her list. She found it was occupied by two college girls who had an accident a few days ago. She offered to help them so they could leave by Friday as she needed, but she found Caius and his wife were reticent to send them away as Bree was wearing a cervical collar.

"So Bree, when are your parents coming to get you?" The girl must be eighteen, Rose thought concerned. But Caius and his wife were protective of the girls, sending them away could be difficult if she didn't offer something in exchange.

"Hmm, well, they were coming yesterday, but the doctor suggested to wait for a couple of days. Vicky's wound also requires rest. My parents are coming next Friday."

Rose thought it was a big risk if by any cause their parents got late. Maybe if she offered to get them home sooner...

"Why don't you rest? Perhaps one of my friends can get you home sooner and we avoid to bother your parents. The people in Volturi Corp. wants to get any visitor the best experience, so they will come back. What do you say?"

Rose left, unsure of her success as Caius demanded to get the doctor clearance before letting both girls go. On her way back home, she passed a group of people wandering by the side of the road. She swore her eyes were playing a joke as she thought her ex-friend Bella Swan was here in Micanopy after all these years. Certainly, a hallucination.

xxx

Jasper, Edward, and Bella were looking around the area close to the cave. They found promising clues as they got the remains of a couple of eggs and one spine.

From the other side of the road, Alice was pushing Alec to walk faster.

"I'm sure it's here. It has to be here. Just think about it, it no man's land, outside town, Esme told us it was full of bats and guano inside, and the only neighbor around is a woman who isolates herself from the world. "

Two minutes later, both groups clashed.

"What are you doing here?" Alice said with unjustified bravado, as she wanted these people to leave so she could investigate.

Bella just raised her brow. What crap crawled to this girls ass? "What are you doing here?" She was sure she never met her before, but this part of town didn't belong to anyone, it was a public space.

"We arrived first, and we're dealing with important business on behalf of Esme Volturi." Alice huffed.

Bella walked around the tiny girl, not impressed at all. Bella knew she mentioned to Esme her own plans to investigate around, and was sure Esme would help her if Aro hadn't requested her help. And Esme knew it was dangerous. This girl was lying.

"Really? Because I just talked to her and she never mentioned you."

Alice wasn't one to let anyone stand in her way, least now that she was sure she was onto something big. "Well, clearly what I'm doing it's far more important and urgent, and as far as I know, she doesn't answer to you so why would she bother to call you?"

Bella hummed and was about to answer when Jasper came to her side and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Let me deal with her, please?"

Bella nodded curious s to what he would say.

"Listen, Miss..."

"Mary," Alice answered, remembering she wasn't using her real name.

"The subject of our business is a matter of life and death, and if you don't mind me saying it, there's no way yours is as important."

Alice got red as she got madder.

"I don't care! We got here first!"

"So? We're dealing with something vital!" Jasper answered, annoyed with the pretentious woman.

Soon, both were yelling to each other. Bella just went to Tony's side as he smiled and muttered 'Sure, he has it under control'. Alec just stood quietly with his camera, noticing the others were carrying some sort of equipment and gloves. Alec began to wonder if they were part of the lab and remembering the giant bug decided to shut up Alice. They could come on another time.

Mrs. Rachel, angry at the screaming outside her usually quiet home, got out to get rid of those noisy people. They were scaring her babies.

"Shut up!" She yelled, making Jasper and Alice to stop arguing. "Whatever problem you have, take it far from here, you're scaring my babies."

Alec, Edward, and Bella offered their deepest excuses, Jasper and Alice just stood quietly.

"Look, come inside. I think if we all talk about your problems, we can settle your argument."

Once inside, Mrs. Rachel was kind enough to help them settle their dispute. Making Alice accept she wasn't offering a valid excuse to wander around the cave before the others checked it. And Alice wasn't ready to share her plan.

Bella noticed Lucky was sitting with a bloated paw.

"Oh my God! what happened to you?"

"He got lost and came back like this. I was so sure those punks Noah and Lewis were the ones who took him, but apparently he just curious."

When Bella figured out what happened to Lucky, Mrs. Rachel whispered she believed something was going on inside the cave as the animals around here were so quiet or just left, but she didn't like the petulant attitude Alice showed.

Bella advised her to keep her cats inside until Bella deemed the coast clear, as she was so fond of the cats as she was fond of the owner.

"Guys, I think we're on the right path. I bet you my next month paycheck that we will find another caterpillar inside that cave!"


	12. Chapter 11

Charlie Swan was tired of nuisances like whiny deputies who threw tantrums over unreciprocated feelings or finding abandoned cars in the middle of the road, and now he was dealing with the worst hysteric pair of women on town. He had Mrs. jones and Mrs. Frankton reporting their boys were missing. Great! Just two days before Mr. Volturi's guests arrived.

"And he took the truck, I never mind when he does it. He always comes back on time for me to get my supplies for next week. But this time, he wasn't back." Mrs. Jones managed to say between sobs.

"Yes, and she called me. My baby wasn't back either. I swore Lewis was wandering around town with Noah. You have to admit something happened to them. My mother's intuition tell me so." Mrs. Frankton cried to Charlie.

He just frowned. Just when he thought the abandoned car was the last of his ordeals, which he considered was a joke as it belonged to one college kid who until now, remained unreachable. Now he had a completely different case. Noah and Lewis clearly took a few days to hide from their mothers. Maybe these two went to a party next town. It wasn't uncommon. And maybe they got too drunk to drive back home or they were avoiding the punishment her mothers would impose to them. But he knew that when a woman mentioned her 'mother's intuition', or 'woman's sixth sense', there was no way to argue. It was a waste of time. So he gave them the only answer which would satisfy them.

"Please, tell me what were they wearing. I'm going to ask the boys to look out for them." Charlie offered with hopes of keeping them for making a fuss. He had to make sure this week passed by without any occurrence as he knew Aro's guest would be in town soon.

xxx

Carlisle was traipsing the woods along with Emmett and Tanya. For Carlisle serious approach to life, walking with Emmett who found everything 'awesome' (probably his favorite word) and who still keep that capacity to get fascinated with every discovery, was heartwarming.

"Look, Boss," Emmett decided to call Carlisle the same way that Bella did, "those oaks have ginormous holes on them. Look like they're just about to eat us. Chomp!"

But what Emmett saw as mouths, Carlisle saw as a possible nest. He walked fast to the nearest oak with his flashlight in hand.

"Damn! Mrs. Newton, do you have that camera handy?"

Tanya took a few steps closer to Carlisle, giving him the aforementioned camera. Her comment of 'calling her Tanya' died on her lips as soon as she saw what Carlisle was taking pictures of.

There were rusted remains of cans, with a gooey brown substance. But, interesting enough, between the goo there were yellow lumps.

"This is a hatched egg. I think we just found the nest."

Soon, they finalized the search through the trees. All were full of eggs and goo. Carlisle was shocked, because according to their findings, there should be probably hundreds of caterpillars prancing around Micanopy which worried Carlisle. No one of them could fathom how the bugs were hiding, being that big. Unless they ate each other leaving Bob and the one Emmett squashed as the only survivors. Very unlikely, though. Carlisle was sure there were still at least fifty more roaming around, as they saw hundreds of eggs. Alas, the caterpillars were missing.

xxx

After Bella tended to Lucky's paw, she led not only the guys but also Alice, Alec, and a very worried Rachel on the way to the cave.

"I think some of them could be hiding inside the cave. It offers a great place to sleep and hide from predators." Bella was explaining while moving the tall grass from the trail with a metal stick. "Please, be careful to step where I do. You don't know how painful a sting could be."

Alice rolled her eyes while Jasper cried. "I know!" which brought laughs from his friends.

"So you think that's what happened to Lucky? He got stung?" Rachel asked.

"No. We're talking about a highly caustic venom. I'm sure Lucky got hurt by something else. Believe me, he honored his name as he wouldn't survive a sting from a caterpillar." Bella got quiet. Her stick hit another bigger stick. One too thin and easily lost between the grass. "Guys, could you bring me the pliers? I think I found something."

Edward brought a big plastic container and Jasper passed the pliers to Bella. She lifted the stick in awe.

"Oh my God! Do you see the size of this spine? Bob's are less than half of this."

Edward lifted the container so Bella could put it away, but he was making a lot of calculations.

"Bella, if this is a spine, I believe the size of this caterpillar must be at least 2.5 times bigger than Bob. We're talking as big as a cow."

Suddenly they weren't so eager to get closer to the cave. Alice mumbled a 'now what?' when Jasper turned back and answered.

"We were ready to manage a smaller caterpillar, but one this big... As cute and innocent as they seem, they are too dangerous to try to hold them. Whatever you think is inside that cave, I hope it survives being trampled by the caterpillars."

Alec got curious. He saw the one they kept at the lab so he had an idea of what were they dealing with, though he couldn't admit it. "How many do you think are hiding inside the cave?"

"I don't know. I mean, if there were so many of them, someone must have seen at least another prancing around. Maybe another five, less than twelve? Besides, if there were lots of them, and seeing how much Bob eats, they must have devastated some area." Bella answered,

"Should we get closer to take a peek inside the cave?" Alec asked. He wanted so desperately to take one picture of those caterpillars.

Edward looked around and found a tree close and high enough to get a look without risking to disturb the caterpillars if they were inside the cave.

"I can climb this tree."

Alec was faster by his side. "No, let me do this. I have some sort of experience." Which brought a huff from Alice. She remembered how many times, they took advantage of Alec's ability to climb to get better pictures on their investigations.

"He'll climb quickly and get down fast. You'll see."

Jasper and Edward pushed Alec while he nimbly moved until he reached the top. He took his camera eagerly and shoot... only to come back down hyperventilating.

"There aren't twelve. Think of a hundred!" And he showed his camera to the others.

Mrs. Rachel was sobbing for her cats, while Edward comforted her, promising to help her to close windows and doors so her cats couldn't go outside until the situation was handled.

Alice examined thoroughly the picture. She tried to enhance the image. Sure, they were at the back. Boxes and boxes of what she assumed were the illegal medicines Aro was manufacturing. She was so close to getting the proof of Aro's dealings.

"We need to close this place." Bella sighed. "We can't risk someone coming here out of curiosity. It's too dangerous."

"Maybe we're late."

Alice showed them what else she found. At the back, lying beside the boxes, were the remains of a red truck.

xxx

"Dr. Clapp, your phone is ringing!" The annoying receptionist yelled.

"Coming!" Raymond Clapp answered. It was his fault as he forgot his phone at the kitchenette. He should be grateful the receptionist was an honest woman who was giving it back. "Thanks, Mimi."

He looked at the screen, hoping it wasn't his ex-wife. Nope. It was Marcus, and he was calling back again.

"Hey, Marcus!"

"Hi. Hmm, are you seated? Because I got news."

"Just spit it out. My poor ol' heart will handle it."

"The samples you sent me," Marcus whispered as if he didn't want to be heard, "I finally finished the analysis. I found what killed your friends."

"They weren't my friends."

"It was a heavily enhanced form of venom. From a tiny caterpillar."

"What? Are you sure? You saw what level of decomposition..."

"It isn't your regular worm. It's called 'puss caterpillar' and it's extremely dangerous. I finally isolated the venom and sent it to one friend in Minnesota. He confirmed my theory."

xxx

"So I got almost everything ready for Friday. The only place that is uncertain is Caius Bronstein."

"Why?" Aro asked.

"He is housing two college girls who had an accident. They are wearing neck braces and Caius is waiting for them to get better. He's been talking to their parents so they know Caius and his wife are taking care of the girls. They're supposed to leave tomorrow, as soon as the doctor allows it but just in case I want to keep an eye on them."

"Is that a big problem?"

"Not really. We have Mr. Hong pending of confirmation. His wife is about to give birth, so he doesn't want to risk the trip."

Aro nodded. "So you're assuming Caius place would be for Mr. Hong."

"Mr. Hong offered to send his assistant to check the premises, but I think we can accommodate him here. They're more interested in the size of the festival."

Aro hummed his approval and then changed the subject. "Did you meet Lauren?"

"Blond dumb bimbo who came with James? Yes, I had. What was he thinking? He used to have better taste."

"I don't trust her a bit. I want you to keep an eye on her but I also don't want to overwhelm you with work. Maybe Esme can keep tabs on her."

"Hmm, but she's also helping James with the plans for the weekend." Suddenly Rosalie smiled. "Don't worry. I think I have the perfect job for Lauren. What if I get her and Marie to decorate the restaurant where the inauguration will be held? It will keep them busy and out of our hair."

"I think it's perfect. Now where's that girl Marie and her boyfriend?"

"I think they went to the park. The guy dabbles into photography and they wanted to take pictures. But we can tell them at dinner."

xxx

Carlisle drove fast to the lab after he dropped Tanya and Emmett at the dinner. He needed a map. He found where the nest was, and he needed to draw the path those caterpillars followed. Here is where the first victim was stung. Then the dinner, though that one came with one of the boxes.

"Hello!" A sweet feminine voice called from the door.

Carlisle turned around, map still in hand, to find that the owner of the voice had also an angelic face.

"Hi! I'm Esme Volturi. I'm looking for Bella Swan. She offered me a tour on the lab." She said with confidence as she walked to where Carlisle was standing.

"Hmm, she's not here but I..." He found rather difficult to speak to this beautiful woman.

"Oh, well. Do you mind if I wait here?" Esme walked to Bella's desk and sat on her chair.

Carlisle stood motionless for a minute. He seemed to forget what he was doing before this vision came inside the lab.

"Boss! You won't believe what we found." Bella came barreling into the lab, bringing Carlisle back from Dreamland.

"Umm, well, yes?" He blinked.

"Oh, let show you." Bella took the map from his hand and pointed to the cave. "Here is where all the caterpillars are hiding. You won't believe how many of them... Boss, is there something wrong?"

"You have a visitor." He pointed to Esme who waved and smiled to Bella.

"Hi, Esme. I think it's great you're here because I'll need your help." She went to show Esme the lab, but Alec was already showing her the picture of the cave.

"Bella, I found the nest. The are hundreds of eggs!"

"Carlisle, we found them. All of them." Jasper informed Carlisle as he passed the camera to him.

"Boss, I think I'll have to swallow my pride and force my Dad to come. We can't let the people coming closer to that cave. It's too dangerous." Bella sighed.

"She said the caterpillars are as big as cows!" Alice whined, still not believing them. Jasper tired of her attitude, pulled her from her arm and brought her to Bob's cage.

"This is our friend Bob. We like Bob because he behaves. See, his spines are small. This one," He pointed to the container, "this little spine can kill you with one little touch. So stop whining and help us."

Esme intervened, as she didn't want Alice to expose her real mission.

"I think you're right Bella. Let's go. I'll help you to deal with the Chief."


	13. Chapter 12

"Mrs. Volturi, Bella!" It was funny the change on Chief Swan's tone of voice, from reverent to annoyed.

"Charl... Father, we've come here with a very important request." Bella started and Charlie was already shaking his head in negation.

"Chief, we found something quite astounding inside the caves. It's of the utmost importance that you block the way to the cave on the outskirts of town."

"Is this about your 'giant bug'?" Charlie asked annoyed.

"Yes, and I got proof." Bella walked to her father's desk. She showed him the pictures, not only from Bob but from Janey and Jasper's injuries, the body of the squashed caterpillar and finally the picture of the inside of the cave.

Charlie only grumbled a few words as he knew what else was hiding in the cave. He had to stop anyone from coming inside. Whether it was for the bugs or it was of the other things inside.

"Ok. I'll send the guys to block the entrance. We must talk to Mrs. Rachel about wandering around the cave."

"She knows. She promised to keep her cats away." Bella added, thinking she was helping Charlie to keep the townsfolks at bay.

Charlie's eyes got wider. "How many people knows about this?"

"Oh, just the ones who got affected: the Newtons and their guests, you know one of them got injured, Heidi and her husband, their daughter Janey was hurt, Mrs. Rachel had one of her cats hurt too. And well, Esme and her guests too."

"Don't forget about the hospital personnel. At least we know for sure the ones who tended to Janey and your friend."

"Yeah, because God knows those nurses don't gossip between them," Bella said with a smile as she noticed how Charlie paled when he found out how many people were aware of the bug.

xxx

After he left the women, reluctantly, Charlie knew he had to talk urgently with Aro. Why of all the places those stupid animals had to hide inside the only place Aro claimed as his storehouse for all those products he sold on internet? Sure, it was a way to guarantee nobody would get closer, and Charlie thought it would be wise to make it clear to Aro. But knowing Bella, she probably will be investigating those bugs. And she even brought her boss! Soon they'll be surrounded by those crazy bug guys from all over the country. If those pictures she showed him were true...

First, he had to get Jacob and Embry to watch over the cave. No one was to get close, for their own safety, of course.

xxx

Esme invited Bella to have dinner with her family, but Bella declined, as she mentioned she was helping Carlisle to set their plans for the next days. They must find a way to contain those caterpillars.

Esme would gladly help that hunk of a doctor if only she could be free to do it. But first, it was dinner time with her family. Ahh, and she had to meet James' girlfriend, hopefully, to sway her away from him if she turned out as vile as Aro assured her she was.

The door to her house opened before she even took out her keys.

"Esme, I'm glad you're here. We were just waiting for you to start." An exasperated Rosalie helped Esme inside. Alice and Alec were already seated, and for the looks of it, as peeved as her.

James was fast to stand up, welcomed his mother and led her to the table. "Mom, let me introduce you to my girlfriend, Lauren. Lau, this is my mother Esme Volturi."

Esme turned her beaming smile full of hope into a blank face. For the first time in her life, she agreed with Aro wholeheartedly. The woman looked so overdone: her hair bleached to a platinum tone, her tan was two shades before turning orange, the nails of the hand she offered to Esme were too large and made Esme wonder how could she get anything done. And that nose so thin, how did she breathe when she got a cold?

"Nice to meet you." The woman answered with an awful nasal voice, letting Esme notice how strained her face was because of botox. Jesus! How could she get so much done on her if she seemed too young? She was in her twenties surely. What a waste because probably she was cute before any enhancement was done.

Esme took a seat next to James and made an extraordinary effort to ignore the hand that woman was pushing toward James' nether regions. She had to give the woman a chance. She would overlook her appearance if she made James happy. That was what mattered.

"So how you two meet?" Esme asked after they finished with the delicious soup their housekeeper made.

James had a serious face and Lauren giggled.

"Oh, my Jamie-poo was waiting for a girl at the bar where I worked." She said smiling toward James. "The girl never appeared so he said it was the last time he let his friend set him up, and well, I was there hearing him. I bought him a beer, you know, because he looked so cute and lost like a puppy. But he declined the first two beers I offered. He was still waiting when my shift was over and his phone's battery died."

"So Lauren was kind enough to let me use her phone to yell a few choice words to my friend Liam, the one who set me up, and then we went for coffee and we've been together ever since."

"It was fate."

Esme just raised one brow. Well, she was expecting some convoluted plan from this Lauren to get closer to James, but apparently it was really fate.

By the time they finished with the dessert, Esme realized Lauren only had one topic of conversation: her. How lovely James thought she looked on her work uniform despite the comments of her coworkers about the size of her shirts, how people always misunderstood her good intentions, how nervous she was to meet them, how rude were the other inhabitants of the house to her when she only wanted to give them a good impression.

Rosalie grumbled a few profanities, and Aro was on his fifth bourbon.

"And I told her I wouldn't stand for her being so rude. Who did she think she was after all? I left that apartment and moved in with my Jamie-poo." Lauren said, very satisfied with the way she stood to her mother who asked her to help with the rent.

Esme, as cultured as she was, ran out of polite blank answers to Lauren rants. She was wondering what the hell James saw in that self-centered vile woman who abandoned her own mother after bleeding her dry? Not once she mentioned James as other as a provider of material goods. He bought me this, he paid for that. Let's don't forget the way she used any chance she had to diminish Rose or Alice as if they were just a nuisance. Luckily, Aro was tired of Lauren's voice and he never minded to hurt anyone's feelings so he voiced his concern about what was left for their partners future visit.

"So James, did you finish setting up the community center for the welcoming party?"

"No. The chairs will be delivered tomorrow at ten. And then I have to arrange with the caterers when they're supposed to deliver the food. Tomorrow will be a busy day." James puffed his chest while he answered, proud of the way his plans seemed to come to fruition.

"But we still need the restaurant decorated. I got the banner and the programs but someone has to primp the place. I was thinking you Mary and you Lauren will be great as both of you had an excellent taste." Rosalie was fast to add, much to the chagrin of the girls.

"Oh! I thought you had maids to do this kind of job. I mean, why don't you" Lauren was stopped mid- phrase when Esme remembered something.

"Oh James, you won't believe who is back in town. Bella Swan."

Esme enjoyed the way her words affected the others. Rosalie frowned and whispered 'shit!'. Aro just lifted his brows, he wasn't fond of the girl as she disturbed Charlie. But the most interesting reaction was James wistful smile and Lauren's angry glare.

"Who's this Bella?"

xxx

Bella was having a peaceful dinner with Bob. Well, more like she was dropping vegetables into Bob's cage as she munched on her delicious sandwich. She found in the caterpillar a good friend who listened to her without complaining because obviously he couldn't, and Bella needed to tell someone about her thoughts to unwind. That's how she worked.

"So you see Bob, I really like him. And I think he likes me too. Jesus! I sound like a teenager with a crush. Yet we have bigger issues going on right now. Like this crisis with your brothers. Carlisle is trying to reach one colleague who specializes in venoms to get us an antidote."

She dropped a piece of bread too.

"I know you like it. It's a treat for being such a good boy. It'll be our secret." Bella giggled. "You know something? I'm planning to keep you after all of these is said and done. I'm just wondering how I'm gonna hide you to bring you home with me."

Bob made a sound that seemed to bring joy to Bella, as she thought he was purring.

"You know? This visit didn't turn out like I thought. I was really scared about confronting my father, but right now, he's just annoying. There's Jacob who thinks I'm going to change my mind and I'll stay. He really doesn't know me but still thinks I'll be perfect for him. Yeah, he's delusional. He's in love with some warped idea of me and somehow believes it will come true. Then, I love Esme Volturi but she's got that shine in her eyes of 'you'll look so adorable with my son'. And she's so pushy! I'm glad she had the chance to see me with Tony, because James and me... no way! It'll never happen. That's another one who has delusions but I feel bad for him as he has to live up to his father's expectations."

Another carrot fell inside the cage which Bob munched with gusto.

"But you know who I want to avoid and never ever see again? Rosalie Hale. Yeah, she's the worst traitor bitch that ever walked on this Earth. Really. And we used to be friends when I was naive and thought she enjoyed my company. Anywhoo... I think it's enough for dinner, Bob. Let's get back to work."

xxx

Unbeknownst to Bella, Carlisle was standing behind the door of the lab. He knew he had to make some calls but he was conflicted in the way he should deliver the news and to whom. His own boss at UM was a vacuous man who would try to capitalize the discovery of the caterpillars, no matter the cost this little town may pay. Anything to have a new species named after him.

Then he had Paul Lahote, his young friend who specialized in venoms. Carlisle sent him a text earlier urging Paul to call him, just to find Paul had already emailed him about a new discovery claiming 'you won't believe what this FBI dude found'.

Hearing Bella talking so lovingly to Bob made the decision for Carlisle. He called Paul, knowing he would help them to keep Bob alive.

"Well hello Dr. CC," Paul answered, he was itching to brag about this new discovery.

"Good evening Paul. I'm glad to find you in such good spirits."

"Man, what we found will shock you!"

"We found something peculiar too."

"Ok, let me go first. You know I have a few friends in the bureau, right? Well, one of them came to me to verify his results on a test." Paul was so excited he was bouncing on his chair at his lab. "The test was for a venom which caused the death of two people, there were other side effects, as the bodies were almost unrecognizable and even one was so liquefied."

"Liquified?"

"Oh yes. I've seen the pictures. Well, turned out the venom was a very enhanced version of the Megalopyge opercularis. The thing is, you have to inject massive quantities to reach this kind of effect."

Carlisle was too quiet. He knew where those massive quantities came from.

"Carl? You just got quiet and it's scaring me."

"You said they found two bodies?"

"Barely recognizable, but yes."

"By any chance, this happened in Florida?"

"Man! Are you a psychic?"

"Paul, I know what happened and you're the one who won't believe it. Is there a way we can contact your FBI friend?"

xxx

* * *

Hi!

Sorry for taking my time between chapters. I've been dealing with work and family crises but I think I'm back on track.

Just one more chapter before all hell breaks loose ;)

Let me know what you think.

See ya.


	14. Chapter 13

Charlie explained to Jake and Embry what he expected from them. Lately, both guys been distracted too much. He knew Jacob was angry as Bella kept ignoring him, but he had to learn there was no chance of Bella staying. It didn't matter what Jacob or Bella wanted, Charlie didn't want her in town. Period. What Charlie didn't understand was what the hell was going on with Embry. He was too nervous and sweating, maybe he was coming with a cold. Better to keep his distance.

"So you want us to stay here and to stop anyone who wants to get closer, right?" Jacob still wanted the area surrounded with yellow tape. It usually worked.

"Yes, that what I said." Charlie was annoyed with Jacob questioning him.

"But, why both of us? Embry can handle this alone." Jacob whined .

"Just do as I say! Now, get on this corner. I need to have a few words with Mrs. Rachel."

Charlie walked the path to the old lady house, cursing his luck to have to deal with two incompetent deputies. When he got to Mrs. Rachel driveway, two tall men were nailing an insect screen on the front window. So what Bella said about not worrying for Mrs. Rachel intrusion was true. She was blocking the windows for her cats! Crazy lady.

"Erm, boys, is Mrs. Rachel here?"

The blond guy turned around nodding. "At the back!"

So Charlie, still grumbling, made the walk to the back of the house. There he found a tall and beefy man helping her setting some kind of big litter box so her cats could do their business still in the house. Very helpful.

"So if Mittens feels the need to check outside, he could never tear the net." The man was explaining.

"And the house will have fresh air!" Rachel beamed.

"Exactly."

"Hmm, Hi Rachel. I see the Newton's workers are helping you."

"Yeah, Tanya was so kind to let them work on my home first. With all those animals around here, you don't know what they will do to my precious babies."

"You know that the cave it's out of limits."

Mrs. Rachel laughed."Of course! It was the time you authorities took charge. Those things seem dangerous and you have to get rid of them before they hurt someone."

A noise at the front of the house stopped Rachel's rant.

"I told you to leave this town! She's mine!" Jacob's angry yell made Charlie run back to the front of the house.

"She's not a property and she doesn't want you!" The man with reddish hair answered.

"Well, now that's she's not here we can see who's the best man."

"I will beat your ass gladly. But I leave the option of choosing with whom she wants to be to Bella."

"Words of a loser."

"Hey, hey! Stop it!" Charlie demanded. He wasn't in the best shape and running around always made his knee start to hurt.

"Jacob, what's going on?"

"This... man, thinks he can come to Micanopy and steal my girl."

Charlie was fuming inside. He was really tired of Jacob and his delusions with his daughter.

"Jacob, I told you to stay in the cave. What are you doing here?"

"But he... and Bella..."

"Bella is an adult and she can take her own decisions, she doesn't want you and honestly, it's for the best. I don't want her here. So again, why did you leave the cave alone?"

"I came back to tell you; Embry is gone."

xxx

Earlier at the cave, Embry left Jake on his soliloquy as he was tired of hearing how stupid Bella was leaving a man of Jacob's caliber pass by. Jacob was glad to mention with how many women he hooked up over the time which really bored Embry as it wasn't the first time he heard Jacob tirade.

His curiosity made him wander around the entrance of the cave. What was inside that got Charlie's panties in a bunch?.

He lighted his lantern and swiped the inside as he felt something was wrong. It was too quiet. Eerily quiet. Then he finally saw them. Giant balls of fur breathing. He took two steps back, careful to not make a single noise. He turned around and thanked heaven for not giving another step, as a large tree root could make him fall. Carefully he walked back to the road. He moved his car so it blocked the road and nobody would pass.

Then, he considered to leave a note; Jacob would be glad to tattle on him, but once again he remembered the way Charlie and Jacob discarded his theories as crazy rantings. No, this time he had to go to a higher authority. And there was only one person who would help him. He had to get Bella Swan.

xxx

Aro was sipping his bourbon in the comfort of his study. After dinner from hell, he was thinking of ways to get rid of Lauren. She just proved she was only interested in what James could provide to her. He could offer her money to leave him alone, but a part of him felt like he was letting her win. And when he remembered Esme's eyes he knew she would find a different way to show James how wrong that woman was for him. But Aro didn't want to risk it. He would to the morning to discuss it with Rose. She had an uncanny way to read women and to set the best way to deal with them. Because as unclever as James was, he was Aro's son. It was Aro's job to protect him.

He was so lost in thought that the knock on his door almost made him drop his glass. Who could be bothering him at this hour?

"Come in."

"Hmm, err, Mr. Volturi." Charlie Swan's timid voice came from the door. "I have important news."

"Come, take a seat."

"Hmm, well, this is hard to explain. I didn't mention it to you because I thought it didn't matter but my daughter is back in town."

"Yeah, I already heard about it. What does she want?" Aro knew Bella was independent and never asked anything to Charlie, but life happens and maybe she got in trouble.

"She came here to investigate a bug." Charlie swallowed. How could he explain it to Aro without the pictures? "It seems our town was infected with a mutation of a poisonous caterpillar."

Aro hummed, 'til now he didn't found anything worth of his attention.

"Well, those caterpillars are quite big."

Aro smiled, maybe this could be interesting. "How big?"

"Hmm, err, the size of a cow?"

This time, Aro burst out laughing. "So your daughter now is on drugs?"

"Well, that's what I thought at the beginning, but hmm, she brought me proof. She and Mrs. Volturi went to the station and well, I..."

"My wife did what?"

"Well, they took pictures of the animals. They're hiding inside the cave at the end of the road and well, I know you keep some sort of storehouse there so I thought it would be best..."

Aro stood up and threw his glass to the wall. What if Esme saw what he was hiding in that cave? He wasn't a fool, he knew Esme was looking for a way to get rid of him. And apparently the search of mutant caterpillars, as deranged as it sounded, was the perfect excuse Esme found to finally nail him onto something.

"What did you do?"

"I closed the entrance. Bella insists those caterpillars are dangerous, so nobody should be close to them."

Aro felt relieved. Then it surely meant... "So nobody got inside the cave?"

"Oh, no! Quite the opposite. That's why I left Jacob and Embry blocking the road. Nobody has to set a foot inside. Nobody will see what's inside."

Aro hummed. He hoped Esme didn't get a look at what he got hiding inside that cave. Better secure it before someone does. "That's fine Charlie. I think I'll take care of that issue in the morning."

xxx

Thursday turned out to be a day full of activities, as everybody was anxious for the weekend.

At the Volturi's abode, the day started very early in the morning.

Aro requested an abundant breakfast because everybody had a busy schedule to finish the last details for the visit of the future sponsors.

He, along with Rosalie, went on every chore he expected to be finished by the end of the day. Esme, who was used to his demands, only nodded and hummed her approval. She wouldn't let him know she had her part of the planning already done. She had her own plans for the day. And maybe she could go to check on Bella and her gorgeous boss. She really trusted Chief Swan would keep the cave closed, he was always kissing her ass. Alice and Alec offered to do the decorations for the restaurant by themselves, but Aro was adamant to put Lauren to work. He was already pissed off because James and Lauren haven't come down for breakfast.

At the other wing of the house, James was arguing with Lauren. She didn't want to help as she thought it was beneath her.

"Do you realize you're giving the worst impression to my parents?" James was seething in outrage. He never thought Lauren would turn out like this. As a matter of fact, he didn't want to bring her home. He still had doubts, he didn't see her as his 'forever'.

"So? It doesn't matter as I'm sure they were setting you up with that blond."

James burst out laughing at such a ridiculous statement.

"They know Rose and I barely tolerate each other."

"Then who is Bella and why did you blush when they mentioned her?"

"She's a childhood friend. Now I want you to go and offer apologies to my mother. Tell her you'll gladly help to set anything she asks."

Seeing jealousy wasn't working, Lauren decided to attack from another front. "No! You have to stand up to them. They treat you like a child!"

"No, they're supporting me in this endeavor."

"When I met you I thought you were an independent man. Now I see you are fast to run and hide under your mother's skirts."

"What?" James was shocked as he didn't where this comment came from. Seemed like Lauren just was looking for a fight. Which was what she was doing. She wanted James to show her off around town, claiming her position as the future Mrs. Volturi. Not running around with the other kids following that blond's instructions.

"You were supposed to be taking me on a tour around town. Not making me hang banners and streamers on a third class joint."

James felt a headache coming. He really didn't need Lauren's attitude as he was already stressed and nervous about the weekend.

"Then I had to find about your ex-girlfriend Bella, who probably is a fat cat-loving desperate woman, waiting for a reunion with you."

Again, James didn't know where was getting Lauren those ideas, but he wouldn't stay to hear such nonsense. He just turned around and left the room. Slamming the door to give Lauren the notion of how angry he was, just one step closer to make her pack her things and send her back home.

xxx

A bit far from the Volturi's, Carlisle was pacing around the lab. He left the Newton's apartment early in the morning as he was eager to set everything in motion for the day. He didn't manage to talk to Marcus of the FBI until midnight. The gravity of the situation making Marcus promise to arrive at Micanopy next morning. They had a three-way call with Dr. Clapp on next county and after securing his visit the next day. Carlisle found it discouraging when Dr. Clapp asked to keep his visit a secret to chief Swan. It seems the local police was determined to close the case and hide it between the paperwork. That explained why Bella, being the chief's daughter, was adamant to have Esme Volturi's help. Seems like the delightful woman had a lot of influence in town.

Meanwhile, Bella was busy getting food for both of them, also a salad and something else for Bob who was getting too big for this cage.

Carlisle was sure as soon as the guys get a look at Bob, they would get crazy. Marcus offered to reach his contacts if they found the threat of the caterpillars too big to handle by themselves.

"Just wait 'til you see them!" Carlisle told them, understanding why they doubted him but willing to see their faces once the get a peek at the cave. They promised to bring their equipment after all.

xxx

By noon, Micanopy was bursting with activity. Alice, Alec, and Esme were finished with the restaurant and were taking advantage of their time alone, to check on what Alec found in Aro's office. Apparently something made Aro leave the house late at night, disturbed enough to not close the door. Too bad Aro also had the great idea of using Jame's birthday as the combination to open the safe. Tsk, tsk.

"That bastard bought an island in Brazil. He's planning to escape." Esme was furious.

Alec just took a file labeled 'Esme', because he was worried Aro could come back soon. Still, they have to manage to copy everything and get the file back.

"He was also planning to leave you and Rose to face the consequences of is acts. Here, he's blaming you for the illegal drugs." Alec showed her the pictures he took from another set of documents. "Though, I think is his plan just if he gets caught."

"Asshole!"

Alice patted Esme's shoulder as she was about to have a breakdown. "But don't you see, now that we found his plans, we can act. Now, I'm not sure if I could publish the little things we found yet. We need..."

"We need to hurry. Blondie is coming over, and it seems she's bringing the girlfriend from hell with her. And a Chinese man?" Alec barely had time to get far from the window before the group arrived.

"Oh, the first guest arrived!" Esme composed herself and went to open the door to the let the group in, giving Alice and Alec time to hide the file with the information. They had to find a place to hide it before Rosalie got a chance to see it.

Rosalie stepped inside with a force that made Esme wonder how she managed to keep the heels attached to her shoes. Behind her, Lauren came muttering and offered a very fake smile to her. The man was the last, looking the interior of the restaurant with glee.

"So here's where you plan the first meeting, right? It turned out excellent. I'm sure everybody will love it."

The man was nothing like Esme expected for a Chinese businessman; he had zero accents, like he lived in this country his whole life. Still, she was the hostess, so she welcomed him; Rose waved goodbye as she left, claiming she had to check the accommodations for the other guests. And Lauren just sulked, instead of being thankful to find the place already set.

Great! It seems like Esme had to entertain this guy for the day. So much for her plans for the day.

xxx

The kids got sad when Mrs. Volturi mentioned their party would be postponed. So sad that a few mothers got together and organized another party one day earlier. As the Volturi's would be occupying the community center, they restored to make the party at the Johnson's yard. It was big enough, the park was close and they had the friendliest dog.

The kids were running now, immersed in a hide-and-seek game. Blissfully unaware of what was happening around town.

xxx

Aro was a patient man when it was necessary, but this too much. After his talk with Chief Swan, he knew he had to get rid of whatever animal was hounding his storehouse. He called two of James' workers. Two specialists in explosives. A little blow would scare the animals so they would get back to the preserve where they surely came from. So he went to talk to them at midnight, and he was clear enough to make them realize he wanted the explosion and the cleaning of the cave before noon. Aro had a lot to do and didn't want to worry about those damn animals.

The men were supposed to start with the explosives at six a.m., but now was noon and they weren't finished. What could take them so long? He didn't have another choice but to come and supervise personally.

"What's going on? I thought I was clear last night when I told you I wanted this finished by now!" He yelled to the lonely worker stationed outside the cave.

"Excuse me, Boss. This is the third time we tried. Those things can eat the wires, so we're resorting to using the wireless detonator. Sadly, to use it we need to use more explosives than we want."

Aro growled. "And that's a problem because..."

"Well, err, you asked us to keep your boxes safe. I don't know what's inside and if it's something delicate..."

Aro couldn't hear anything more. Just pitiful excuses. He commanded the worker to use the rest of the explosives and to blow those damn beasts away. His boxes were strong enough to bear the explosion.

So he left, and the poor workers had to call him when everything was settled to start with the explosion.

Ten minutes later, he got the call.

He pushed the button.

And while the earth trembled, Aro smiled relieved.

But inside the cave, the poor caterpillars were disturbed from their sleep. The explosion scared them and they did the only thing they could do... run from the cave.


	15. Chapter 14

Carlisle welcomed Dr. Clapp early in the morning; he only brought a giant crate with his equipment.

"Marcus mentioned he would bring his work van. It's better equipped."

Carlisle was fast to lead him to the lab, hoping Bella arrived with the food, maybe a cup of coffee...

"So where do you keep it?" Clapp was wringing his hands. Could it be possible that Carlisle really managed to capture one specimen of this rare giant caterpillars?

"Oh, it's over here. The problem with Bob,"

"Bob?"

"Bella named him Bob. She's very attached to the caterpillar."

Clapp nodded. He didn't know Isabella Swan personally, but the references of her work were quite impressive; so if she wanted to name the specimens, well, we all have our quirks.

"Like I was telling you, the problem with Bob is that he's getting too big. Nothing like the ones they saw inside the cave, but he's on his way. He's here." Carlisle lifted the sheet Bella used to cover Bob's cage. He was just about the size of a labrador retriever. Clapp's eyes bugged out of his face, he pointed to Bob... and fainted.

Things were a bit different with Marcus. For starters, he didn't come alone. Two burly FBI agents were by his side.

"It seems this little town had been in the eye's of the bureau for some time. This is Felix Bauer and Demitri Welch."

After the introductions, Carlisle guided them to the lab, wondering how he should show them Bob to avoid any more incidents.

"I'm not authorized to come to the field without backup, so I told Felix, who's an old friend, and he mentioned that he and Demetri been keeping an eye in certain Mr. Aro Volturi. It seems his dealing aren't as clean as he pretends."

"Well, I still haven't met him. But his wife is helping us to spread the word about the caterpillars. Now, I want to warn you, Bob could be... impressive the first time you see him." Without another word, Carlisle lifted the sheet, showing Bob to the men. This time, no one fainted. Still, they were speechless.

xxx

Bella mentioned she'll be on her way to the nest after getting breakfast, which was the first thing Marcus and Clapp wanted to see. Carlisle was still troubled by the pictures and the story of the two dead bodies Chief Swan tried to hide.

"I know they're dangerous, but I never imagined they already killed. And to leave the bodies that way..."

"But you mentioned you found the source of the acid." Marcus pointed, as he was analyzing the diagram Bella drew of the anatomy of the caterpillars.

"Well, yes. But the fact that they tried to hide it, and to lie to the poor unsuspecting families."

"Firstly I thought he wanted to avoid a hysterical mass. We had a difficult time buying the story, even though we were aware of the bodies, imagine to explain it to the common people. They would brand him as crazy."

"Or they grow scared and killed anything that resembled a ball of fur."

By then, they were already at the part of the woods where the trees with the nests were located. Marcus got gloves on and started to collect samples, while Clapp was examining one of the hatched eggs.

"This is about the size of my hand. Incredible. How long do you think they incubated? And what about their parents? I can't believe it took only one generation to become this size..."

Meanwhile, Felix and Demetri were walking around, they were more interested in the rusted cans where the eggs developed.

"It has a name, but you can barely see it," Felix said and Demetri was trying to get at least a few letters from the can.

"I think there're a V and a logo. And it ends in 'I'."

"So do you think it Volturi's?"

"I bet you my next month salary that it is. We're on the right track."

But their conversations were halted by the noise of a car coming. A police cruiser from where a dark skinned man got down. Felix sighed. He was used to local police being difficult when they forced to leave a case, but right now there wasn't a case. At least not one this police officer was aware of.

"This area is forbidden for visitors. You have to ask for an authorization." The policeman said, his young age showed by the way he stood trying to look menacing and in the way he showed his beefy biceps while he took off his aviator sunglasses.

"Ah, but we're here on official business. Agent Bauer and agent Welch at your service."

The young officer paled and read two times the IDs as he didn't believe it was possible for them to be FBI.

"Hmm, well, you should have let the chief know you're in town. We can help you with..."

A rumble shortened Jacob's awkward speech; soon they heard another commotion.

"What's going on?" Demetri asked as he was sure that sounded like a contained explosion.

Marcus was fast to close his containers and hurried the rest of the guys into his SUV.

"We need to find out. Carlisle said their hiding place is in that direction and the explosion came from there. We have to hurry!"

Jacob paled more when he heard 'hiding place'. Couldn't they know? And they're driving to the cave.

"Wait! You can't go there!"

xxx

Aro heard the explosion, he smiled and called back his workers. They needed to leave the zone ASAP. No one answered.

He turned on his car and drove back to the hill where he talked to the workers. Somehow, he knew something was wrong. Maybe those things ate the wires again, or maybe it wasn't enough. He remembered he had some C4 stashed in the trunk, but he was saving it for something else.

He stepped on the brakes and watched the commotion going down the entrance. Those things were running outside. Great! Those two stupid men couldn't do anything right. As he opened his door he watched one of his workers running screaming. One of the big animals reached to him and did the unthinkable... bit his arm. In less than three seconds, the man fell and other animals were fast to get him. Aro looked around for the other worker, but what he found was disgusting... a bloody mess was laying on the ground. Shit! Those things could eat humans! Without another thought, he sped up and drove back to his home. He was thankful everybody was out as what he was about to do would be thwarted if anyone saw him. He was sure he kept his fake passport and other documents inside his safe. He needed to leave town, as soon people would find he had something to do with the animals running wild. He mentioned Chief Swan he was 'going to take care' of the animals at the cave, and Aro didn't trust Charlie to keep it quiet. Right now that isle in Brazil seemed like the best buy he ever did.

xxx

Until now, Bella's day consisted on mess after mess. It all started at 12:01. Just after midnight. Embry got to Angela's home, by foot mind you, as he left his police cruiser at the entrance of the cave. He was utterly scared of what he found, but he seemed relieved after Bella told him they knew and how Carlisle was calling support to handle the caterpillars. It took Bella almost three hours to explain everything to Embry, and only twenty minutes to link the strange caterpillars to the death of some Mr. King and a young woman named Jessica. Bella was baffled by her father's reluctance to make a proper investigation. Still, they left Embry to sleep the couch. Bella was sure he could hide in Angela's home, Jacob wouldn't dare to come around again and Charlie avoided her at all costs. He was safe from Chief Swan's fury for a while.

So a sleepy Bella called Carlisle early in the morning to tell him she would get breakfast and would reach them later. She didn't know that later would turn out to be almost noon, as the dinner was overflown with requests for the children's party at the Johnson's yard. Her old friend Seth was busy helping his wife but managed to give Bella a pot of coffee and six subs for her and the guests. She also got fruit and vegetables for Bob.

Then, Angela's boss demanded to talk to her. He was clearly worried about what was going on inside the lab he lent them. When she arrived, she found Carlisle had left with their guests before the poor man reached them, so Bella gave him a tour, explaining what they had found, finishing with an introduction to Bob who was happy chewing his fruit.

"Is this dangerous?"

"Yes. That's why Angela called us. We came when she mentioned a little girl harmed."

The poor old doctor nodded.

"Apparently, one of them is the responsible for the deaths of Mr. King and a young woman named Jessica Stanley," Bella mentioned, wanting to see his reaction.

"I knew it!" The man jumped. "I swear something was wrong when Chief Swan demanded Dr. Clapp to come, not letting me or Dr. Webber close to the bodies." Then, when he realized to whom he was talking, he turned to Bella. "No offense."

"None taken. My father and I don't have any kind of relationship, as you probably know. But why didn't he let you around the bodies? I mean, I understand he doesn't like Angela because she's my friend..."

"I wouldn't have stopped when he wanted. I can't be bought by Volturi as the rest... not that Dr. Clapp is in cahoots with them, but clearly they found a way to make him drop the case."

"Hmm, not really. See, he called the FBI and right now they're investigating the nests..."

Angela's boss smiled. "Good."

Then, while Bella was on her way, she heard the explosion. Then she felt it. Whatever caused that explosion, made the caterpillars run scared. She drove up to one hill, high enough to watch how the scared animals were getting closer to the town.

xxx

Riley finished packing the last of his belongings. Finally, he and his mother were leaving Micanopy and the past behind. With his savings, they secured a tiny apartment, a new place to start while the money from his father's insurance came. He didn't have any hopes someone would buy their land, unless they sell it to Mr. Volturi, and even then, he was sure Aro Volturi would find a way to pay a few pennies for it.

He heard the rumble of his old truck, one he expected to sell to buy a more efficient car. He wouldn't need a truck that wasted so much gas.

Then he felt it. An explosion followed by a trembling. And then his mother was screaming.

He ran to the door, to find his mother was running wildly to him. Behind her, a giant ball of fur was getting closer. Riley didn't think it twice, he ran to the shed, pulled out the flamethrower and ran to his mother. He was going to burn that thing and save his mother.

xxx


	16. Chapter 15

_Riley ran to the door, to find his mother was running wildly to him. Behind her, a giant ball of fur was getting closer. Riley didn't think it twice, he ran to the shed, pulled out the flamethrower and ran to his mother. He was going to burn that thing and save his mother._

James hated to be late but because of Lauren and her bitch fit, he was barely making it. He wasn't cruel to leave her without a way to move around town, so he left his car and took his old bike from the garage. In a way, this helped him go faster and he was about to recover the time lost with the fight but then some kind of explosion happened, making him fall and scatter his files on the floor, not to mention his suit was now ruined. So, without a thought, he rode back home to change his clothes. It was when he was near his neighbor's land that he saw them. Giant balls of fur crawling around.

It was like on of those sci-fi movies he loved as a kid. But it was terrifying in reality; he saw how one pushed and turned a truck that was parked on his neighbor's land. And that's when he saw it. Mrs. Emily King barely escaped from the truck and started to run to her house with the caterpillar hot on her heels. James pushed the gas and rode to her. Carefully he lifted her from the waist and held her, driving as fast as he could to get away from the beast giving Riley a chance to get closer.

The caterpillar lifted his first pairs of legs and Riley took that chance to douse the fucker with the flamethrower. The fire didn't set quickly, as five seconds passed but the thing was emitting a squeak and soon it burst into flames.

"What was that?" Emily yelled, cocooned behind James and the bike.

"I don't know Mom."

The mere smell of the hairs burning was enough for Emily, she turned around and threw up.

xxx

The caterpillars are simple minded creatures. With hunger, they try to find food; with cold, they seek warmth; but scared because of an explosion...

They scattered around, attacking whatever they believed was the cause of the explosion. In their way to safety, they pushed whatever obstacle they found. So cars were turned upside down, trash cans, mailboxes, small objects or people in their way, were bitten and some found their way to their mouths. The worst was when they found those annoying noisy creatures. They tried to harm the caterpillars, which answered with the weapons nature provided... their spines and their mouths, delivering venom and acid in great quantities. The only thing clear in the caterpillars' mind was to finish with those annoying creatures and search for another warm, safe place, where they should start with their change.

xxx

Aro was driving his car as fast as he could. Those damn animals left chaos and devastation wherever they passed, and the road to Aro's house was the worst. It wasn't only like they crushed everything on their way, they turned cars, pulled trees leaving the roots exposed. It was mayhem!

He was making a mental list of the things he needed to retrieve from his safe: his fake passport and IDs, all the cash he stashed though he had more places with cash hidden, and more important, the files he will need to leak to leave the blame of all his misdeeds to Esme and Rose. A few also would fall upon Chief Swan, but he deserved it as he was stupid.

The problem was that he couldn't find a way to cross the path those animals were following.

Then he saw it. That boy Pinkerton, or Silverton? who cares! The point was that boy was less than a mile ahead, on his motorcycle, avoiding the best he could the caterpillars. Aro knew he only would have one chance to make the boy relinquish his bike to him so he took his gun and got down from the car.

Luck was on Aros' side, because while escaping a caterpillar, Pinkerton boy didn't see a rock and fell. The caterpillar passed almost over the fallen boy and went away so Aro got closer.

The boy had an enormous spine coming out of his abdomen. That seemed painful.

"Grgldd" Came from the boy's mouth.

"What?"

"Grhhelp" The boy tried to reach Aro, but he was smart so he took a step back. What did those spines contain? While the boy's body wasn't bleeding, he surely was spewing some pinkish goo from his mouth.

Aro looked around and went to the bike, happy to find it running and with no traces of any goo.

"Gwslrls"

"Sorry kid. I need your bike and that thing left you in a state that, honestly, I doubt anyone would dare to carry you to a doctor. You know, it's nothing personal."

The boy tried to mumble something but his body finally collapsed just like when a balloon looses all the air.

"Great, you stink!" Aro said. He straightened the bike and climbed over it seat. "Sorry kid, survival of the fittest and all that jazz. Thanks for the bike!"

Aro left the body, wondering what the hell brought those animals to Micanopy. Sure, he was to blame for they running rampant over town, but certainly, he didn't create them. Surely a government experiment went wrong and they wanted Micanopy as a goat escape. Well, certainly he won't be a victim, no sir. Survival of the fittest and Aro Volturi was sure he was more than fit to conquer this calamity. Just wait and see.

xxx

This day wasn't going as Rosalie planned. She hated when the unexpected happened. Firstly Mr. Hong assistant arrived. Now, Rose wasn't shocked to find this Mr. Hong was the not officially recognized half brother of the real Mr. Hong. She did her homework and found that Mr. Hong sent him in little missions as to get his father out of his back for not helping him with a real job within their company. So it meant Mr. Hong would deal later with Aro to make the real business and this Hong was just looking and wasting everybody's time. So Rose left him with Esme, after all, she was the one with the social skills.

Then the laundry cleaner was late to open his shop. Rose had to wait for him twenty minutes! All because there was a kid's party around town and the man had to drop his daughters.

And what happened after she got her dresses? She didn't know what horror movie she landed because tons of giant hairy beasts went wild and ran around town. It was chaos all around.

Rose ran to where she parked her car, just in time to watch one of the beasts tear the head from a woman with its mouth claws. They were insects! Rose didn't waste time, she turned around. Her car was just around the corner. The moment she turned it, she heard the wail of a little kid.

"Momyyy!"

Poor thing was standing, scared shitless and holding a dog.

Rose wasn't that of a heartless bitch to leave the kid standing there.

"Come and get in my car!" She yelled and pushed the kid toward her mini cooper. She barely opened the door when the dog's climbed up, pulling the kid with him inside. Rose climbed too and closed the door.

"But my mommy... she's wearing a red sweater... and she told me to wait for her..."

Poor kid just lost his mother and Rose didn't know how to tell him.

"She told me to take you somewhere safe. Let's go."

Carefully, Rose avoided turned cars and debris; she was in deep thought. Fact 1: Those were insects, some kind of caterpillar. Fact 2: She knew Bella was back in town, Bella who specialized on insects. So that's the reason why she was back. Another wild fact, she was sure those bodies from Jessica Stanley and Royce King weren't damaged by a strange combination of fertilizer. Rose felt deep inside those facts were related. If she wasn't so fast to cover those deaths... Her instinct always told her to get all her facts straight. That way, even when she covered something up, she was aware of the real reasons behind said fact. But no, this time, the theories were so crazy that she ignored her instinct and just managed to get the case closed.

"Where are we going?" The little boy asked.

"Hmm, well, I think the best place to stay safe is the hospital. I have a friend there who can..." Rose stopped. This little kid wouldn't understand what she was talking about. No, he probably wanted his mother more than answers. "I have a friend who can help us to reach your Mom. Ok? Oh, my name is Rose."

"I'm Tod. And this is Topper." The kid caressed the dog's ears.

"Weren't you supposed to be at a party?" Rose was sure the whole town was invited.

"Oh, Mom said we would be late. We had to run some errands... do you think it's fine if we go? What if she looks for me at the party? It's at the Johnson's home."

"Tod, somehow I believe we will find your friends where we are going." Rose was scared to think how many people would reach the hospital.

xxx

* * *

 **Hi!**

 **So what do you think about Aro? Or Rose?**

 **Let me know what you think, next chapter will be up on the weekend.**

 **See ya!**


	17. Chapter 16

Marcus was driving like crazy, he was trying to reach at least the last of those caterpillars. But trying to get back on the road soon proved to be almost impossible with debris, rocks, even cars blocking the way, and with an SUV as big and heavy as this one, he couldn't get closer and risk to damage the equipment. Finally, he gave up.

"Dem, call for back up. Tell them is code Epsilon/Red."

"Shit! And to think we believed we were wasting our time with just a gruesome murder case we would never manage to pin to Volturi..." Demetri said, shaking his head. He texted back to his office to let them know what was happening.

"Dem, better call your nephew," Felix asked. He was taking pictures of the mess that was surrounding them.

"Are you sure? There's no turning back once I make that call."

Felix was completely aware. Demetri's nephew, that guy a few years older than him, that was otherwise known as Lieutenant Jones, had enough authority to get army support to come immediately... if they gave him enough proof of the gravity of the situation.

"What else could we do?" Felix said, taking video of a caterpillar crawling down the road.

xxx

The explosion and posterior madness almost went unnoticed by the people inside Newton's dinner. They finished with the chaos of cooking and delivering the food for the kids party and now were busy cleaning under the spell of Freddy Mercury's voice at top volume on the speakers. The only last detail remaining was that Tanya came back after delivering the cake along with Renata.

Michael looked at his watch. She should be back by now unless one of the mothers asked her to stay. But somehow Michael doubted Tanya was in any condition to enjoy that party. They barely sleep and were up before sunrise to get the food finished and delivered on time. And that feeling in the pit of his stomach... his guts never steered him wrong when he was an agent. He knew to trust his guts.

He turned down the volume of the music, to let the guys know he was going out to look for Tanya.

"Boys!" He yelled. "I'm going out, be back in five minutes."

He heard them answer and left, leaving the dinner in silence. When he reached the front doors and before he looked through them, his sense of foreboding grew stronger.

He opened the door and went out to the parking lot, only to find bedlam.

"What the hell?"

He saw a giant caterpillar, in no way he thought they were that big, crawling wildly on the other side of the road. He was so shocked, he failed to notice the one who crashed into the lamp post behind the parking lot.

Edward heard a crash followed by a scream.

"Emmett? Jasper?" He wondered while walking outside of the kitchen. Now that the music was off, he noticed something different on the air. A cacophony of laments and...

"Michael!"

His poor host was laying on the floor, with a giant lamp post crushing one of his legs.

"Tanya! Get Tanya!" Michael screamed hysterically.

Jasper and Emmett also heard the ruckus, but instead of noticing Michael, they saw the caterpillars crawling away.

"Jasper! Emmett! Come and help me!" Edward was trying to move the post, but it was too heavy. Soon with the help of the two other men, they finally pushed it away from Michael's leg.

"We have to take you to the hospital." Emmett tried to lift Michael, but he was screaming in pain.

"Noo! Get Tanya! She's in danger!"

Jasper frowned. Of course she was in danger. All of them were. Something scared those caterpillars and now they were running rampant through the town. But Michael's legs was crushed, probably broken in many places. He must be allucinating because of the pain. Then, Jasper got an idea.

"Emmett will take you to the hospital. Sue's car is still in the parking lot. We will take your bicycles and go to search for Tanya."

It wasn't a foolproof plan, but Jasper was worried Michael wouldn't agree to get medical attention otherwise.

xxx

Meanwhile, the Jonhson's yard was a complete chaos. Only one caterpillar managed to pass close by, but little Harry, Janey and her mother were aware of the danger.

"Get back inside the house!" Heidi yelled, while she pushed any kid she found to where the back door was open.

Now, the kids were pretty obedient and ran inside, but the adults...

"Look! It must be a bison." One mother said.

"Let me get it on video. This will be viral, you'll see." Another one said, glad she kept her phone in her back pocket. "This will go right to Instagram."

Their joy was abruptly cut as the caterpillar crawled to where it heard the noise.

"Oh my God! It's coming. Let me touch it!" This time, it was a father.

Heidi yelled him to stop, but the man didn't listen.

When he extended his arm to touch the fur, a van driven by a deranged woman almost ran over him.

"Get inside the house!" Tanya yelled. What was wrong with that man?

She managed to scare the caterpillar with her van, enough to make him leave the yard but they shouldn't tempt fate. Tanya parked the van close to the back doors of the Johnson's house. It blocked the entrance for the caterpillars but left enough space for anyone else who was still outside.

"And we didn't squash the cake." Renata pointed when she managed to get down from the van.

xxx

"Here Marcus, it's Jones." Felix passed his phone to who he considered the leader of their team.

"Agent Marcus... yes, I'm here. What are your instructions?"

"Listen, my people will send help but we need to see more to assert the danger. So if you turn around to show me."

Marcus was prepared to find the army disbelieving, so he pointed the phone camera to where he thought there was more of a mess, turning on the speaker to hear Jones' comments.

"Ok. Listen. Help will arrive within two hours. I want you to let the people know they need to hide. We found three secure buildings in Micanopy where people must hide: the hospital, the police station and one building that host a dinner called Newton's. People must get inside those locations."

"What, Newton's?" Carlisle was shocked.

"Yeah, it's a safe place with means for defense. It also has a more stable structure in case we need to... Now, I'll be in touch in forty-five minutes to see how you're doing, but let the people know. Get the police to help, though you're the authority now."

Felix nodded to Marcus and went outside looking for the young policeman who was following them. What he found was an abandoned police cruiser. Where the hell that boy went?"

xxx

Five minutes before, Jacob was driving like crazy, trying to stop these guys from reaching the cave. On the road, he noticed the giant animals were far more dangerous than a mere snake. He stopped the car when he saw a young woman running towards him but she was still far.

"Heeellp!" It was Kimmy Sutherland. A nice lay, but nothing out of the ordinary; oh, and she got so clingy afterward that he avoided her like the plague until she set her view on the next unsuspecting guy.

She was running at full speed because a giant mass of hair was chasing her. Jacob got his gun, ready to shoot the animal, but he tried to find where to shoot, he found he couldn't differentiate its head from its back. He shot anyway, careful to avoid Kimmy. He shot all the bullets before noticing he did naught to the beast, who finally reached Kimmy and... it bit her head!

He became aware of his body running toward Kimmy, but suddenly instinct kicked in, and he realized it was too late to save her. He turned around. Micanopy was pure chaos.

And suddenly an idea came to him. In this chaos, nobody would know who was alive or dead until much much later... People were running around to save their lives, and it will take some time to find out the amount of destruction bestowed to the town. He saw a tiny chance, an opportunity. And it would be there for him if he dared to take it. Was he brave enough?

Jacob gave a glance to the town. Chances to be caught were slim to none. It was his only chance, it would never happen again.

Jacob exhaled, a plan already formed in his head. This time, he would end up the winner.

xxx

After the explosion, Esme, and the others become aware of the chaos ensuing outside. While Lauren was glad they were inside the restaurant, Alec got more anxious.

"These walls won't resist." He knocked around and felt what he supposed were drywalls overlayed to look like a two-story pagoda. "This restaurant is made for the show, not to endure...

"What? Wild animals running rampant around town? What were the odds?" Was Lauren's petulant answer. Before the explosion, she was bored to the bones, and the only mean of entertaining she found was to talk to this Mr. Hong.

The man was pleasant to the eyes, nothing like she expected of a mature Chinese businessman. A very single, and probably rich because he was making business with James, mature Chinese man. And he spoke English so fluently, he caught all her innuendos. She was about to make her move to take him to one of the bathrooms when the explosion happened.

"Well, this restaurant have had so many styles over the years... I think it was easier to just change the facade to go with the current style." Esme said, noticing how right Alec was. This wasn't supposed to happen, that's why they made the police aware... well, they weren't particularly brilliant. At least this chaos would give them time to get the file back to Aro's safe.

Suddenly, a caterpillar crashed through the glass doors, turning tables and scaring Esme.

"Climb the wall!" Alec suggested. The intricated Chinese pattern would serve them as steps to get out of reach from the caterpillar, up to where the simulated second story stood.

Everybody got to climb, but the caterpillar kept running around, crashing with the french doors that separated the kitchen from the front.

"Don't let it touch you! It's highly poisonous!" Esme yelled, knowing Mr. Hong and Lauren weren't completely aware of the danger they were in.

The caterpillar made another pass through the area, finally managing to break the back wall and going outside.

Esme looked around. Alec and Alice were close to her, but Mr. Hong and Lauren were on the opposite side, standing over a tiny frame that was about to give up.

"That won't hold your weight! You have to move to this side." Alec yelled.

Mr. Hong tried to help Lauren to step to the side so she could start to move when another caterpillar got inside. Lauren didn't think it twice, she pushed Mr. Hong down, right to the caterpillar.

"Nooo!" Everybody screamed.

"What? I'm lighter than him, I have more chance to get to the other side."

"You're such a piece of trash He was trying to help you!" Esme shouted.

"So? He helped me. Now, where do I have to step to get over there? I just can't wait to leave this town. I'll make sure James buys me a house in a real city, far far away from here."

"Ha! In your dreams. There's no way I will let my son continue a relationship with the likes of you."

"Ah, because he's such a Mama's boy. Too bad he's very fond of my assets." Lauren pushed her chest forward, just for emphasis.

"Not really, where is he now if he's so enamored of your 'assets'?" Esme asked, hoping James was getting tired of her.

"We had a misunderstanding. But it doesn't matter. I managed to get him before and..."

Alec lost interest in their spat. He, with the help of Alice, was busy trying to find a way out. It wouldn't take long for another caterpillar to come, the smell of food was too tempting. Soon, he found a path.

"And I managed to trick him, so what? That girl he was supposed to know was stupid enough to confide in me. I just gave her a laxative in her drink so she had to leave and James never knew."

"You're such a tramp!" Esme was so angry. The only thing stopping her from slapping Lauren was the distance between them. "You won't see a dime from any of us. You'll see!"

"So? Well, maybe when I manage to leave this town, I will go to the press and tell the sad story of one lone survivor of this crisis. They will pay me for sure."

"Ha, and to which kind of rag will you go? We already have a team of reputed journalists in Micanopy."

"Over here Esme!" Alec had to intervene, otherwise, those two would attract the attention of more caterpillars. The other was busy feasting on Mr. Hong.

Alice was a few steps ahead, guiding Esme through the path Alec found. He was trying to help Lauren to come to their side, but it was proving rather difficult.

"Come on! Just a bit more Lauren." He found a pipe long enough to reach Lauren, but she was scared to take a step closer. There was a carnage going on just under her feet.

"No! You have to come for me!"

'Right! Just for you to push me like you did with Mr. Hong,' Alec thought. "No, you need me on this side so I can pull you over here."

He pushed the pipe again, and Lauren pulled it to her, making Alec drop his end. This brought the attention of the caterpillar.

"Look what you did!" Lauren whined. Her nasal voice was very irritating for the caterpillar. The poor thing wasn't looking for a snack anymore. It wanted to hit something to end that awful noise and the wall where Lauren was standing was the closest thing to hitting.

"Nooo!" What the last they heard from Lauren.

It took two tries, but finally, the annoying noisy creature fell; the caterpillar crawled over it, shutting up Lauren's screams.

Esme just gasped. No way she wanted Lauren to end up like this.

"Come Esme. We have to move fast." Alec was fast to reach them and he guided them outside, where the surprised faces of James, Riley, and Emily found them.

"Mom!"

"Oh, James! I was so worried!"


	18. Chapter 17

"Shit! Now where do you think we should go?" Jasper asked, he barely avoided the lump of trash melting under the sun. It was disgusting the way its stench accompanied them all the way down the road.

"Hmm, Michael said it was two long blocks after Bella's home."

"Bella? But she doesn't live here, right?"

"Dr. Webber's home. Bella is staying there."

"But how do you know where she li... aha! I knew it! You came by to visit her." Jasper slapped Edward's back, almost making him fall from the bike.

"I don't think it's relevant anymore. We need to find Tanya. Turn to your left and it's all down the road."

"Yeah, yeah. How did you manage to get Michael to give you her address?"

"It wasn't Michael."

"Oh, Mrs. Newton has a romantic heart then?"

"Yeah, she was nice enough to... watch out!"

The road suddenly went covered by lots of branches. A fast look to the left made them aware of the two caterpillars busy eating the top of an oak. Those branches probably came from the fallen tree.

Then they heard a chorus of cries. Tiny cries.

"Wait!" Edward took a look around and saw movement under a bunch of branches. His curiosity got the best of him, and he walked slowly towards the branches.

Carefully, he took one stick he found lying on the floor and used it to push the top of the branches... it was a raccoon! A family of raccoons.

"Poor things."

A closer look let Edward know the biggest raccoon had its leg broken. That's why they got trapped under the branches.

"Here, I found this." Jasper brought a mangled cardboard box. "Though I can't figure out how are we going to drive with the box and Tanya once we find her."

Edward smiled. He knew Jasper had a kind heart.

Somehow, Edward managed to get the raccoons into the box. It got easier once he got the crippled one inside, as the others just jumped. Probably too scared to stay where they were.

"I almost peed my pants," Jasper yelled as he pushed the damn pedal of his bike They had to move faster if they want to find Tanya in one piece. How could someone drive around in that old van and worst, bringing a cake? His respect for Mrs. Newton grew exponentially. Now if they could use her driving mad skills to carry the family of raccoons too...

xxx

At the other side of town, Marcus was driving like crazy, trying to get his people to the hospital. Felix and Demetri took the abandoned police cruiser and followed suit behind, making use of the speakers to let the townsfolk know where to go for aid. What Marcus fretted, was that the old cruiser would never be of help to get their message across town. It was almost impossible to get the car around, lest to make the trek to the other side. They need to find a different source of transportation.

"Stop!" The always subdued stance of Carlisle, came to a halt as he noticed a group of people wandering in front of them. "It's Mrs. Volturi! We have to take them to the hospital."

Sure enough, the tiny group formed by Esme and her guests along with Riley and Emily was moving slowly pushing two motorcycles without a direction.

"Help!" They started to scream when Marcus stopped the SUV.

At first sight, no one was hurt. But the danger of getting caught while walking around town was gigantic. The cruiser stopped right behind, with an astonished Demetri noticing the flamethrower and the machete James and Riley were wielding.

"Does that help?" Because if it only did...

Riley shrugged his shoulders. "Only if you make them lift their legs. Those hairs of them are impenetrable!"

"Have you killed one?"

Again Riley shrugged his shoulders. "We left it to burn. Not sure if it survived."

Dr. Clapp was astonished but hopeful. "Maybe we could find a way to stop them."

"Right, but meanwhile, we need to get these people to the hospital. Come on girls, We can have the three of you in the cruiser." Felix said, sending Esme, Alice, and Emily to the car. Then, he turned to Alec. "If you don't mind being cramped in the back, you go and climb on the SUV. We need to regroup at the hospital. Those motorcycles will come handy."

xxx

"No, no no!" Aro screamed in fury. Someone got to his safe before him, and he wasn't sure who it was. Someone took his carefully saved evasion plan and threw it in the trash.

Sure, he was to blame. He took the long way around town to get back to his house, but it was the only way he could avoid those crawling monsters. He made sure to get here in one piece.

When he arrived, he felt secure because it was empty. No one was around. But the moment he opened his safe... everything was gone!

He threw the trashcan to the wall again as it to make a point of his anger. How did someone dare to steal from him?

Now, what to do? He had another stash with money, it was hidden in the little apartment located upstairs the police station. He let the guys use it for their escapades as it was discreet and no one would suspect if they found a police officer coming down from the stairs. Aro was sure people around town thought the apartment was a part of the police station. Could it be possible Aro hid the file and his IDs inside the safe on the apartment? He just hoped it was true.

xxx

After leaving Bob with his lunch, Bella was fast to come to aid Angela. The explosion shocked the few employees wandering around the hospital, and they prepared to welcome the injured; they never thought the kind of madness that was about to fall upon them.

Angela taught Bella how to clean a cut and give stitches, just in case. But nothing prepared them for what was happening.

When people found a caterpillar, there were only two outcomes: They attacked and you ended dead, whether it was by a spine, the acid or a bite.

Or you escaped. In case you managed to escape, you had to move fast and be careful enough to avoid the other people running wild trying to get safe.

So whatever the outcome of any encounter, the risk of coming out unscratched was minimum.

Soon the emergency room was filled with the lucky ones who got injured while running from the caterpillars, who were brought by the luckiest ones who were uninjured.

Bella was finishing the last touches on a young woman's bandage when Angela came to see her.

"Are you finished, because you need to see this."

Bella patted the bandage, nodded to the young woman and turned to follow Angela.

"Mr. Bronstein!"

"Bella!" He answered with a smile, despite being barely conscious because the pain. "After all these years, you know you can call me Caius."

"What happened to you?" Bella's question got answered by a quick look at Caius' leg. Everything under his right knee was almost separated, bloated, and purplish.

"A pipe exploded when we were running from those creatures and it got my leg." He said.

Bella gave his leg a closer look and found what had Angela so shocked. There was a part of a spine coming out from his foot. Bella looked at him again, touching above his knee carefully. His skin was reddish probably because of the other injury, but aside from that he was fine.

"I know," Angela said. "Mr. Bronstein, I need to amputate as the pipe almost dislodged your leg, but..."

"But you don't have an idea of how lucky you were. If that pipe didn't cut your leg, you would be dead by now. That spine is utterly poisonous, no one had survived an attack; well, until you."

That's when Caius' wife started to cry. The two young girls who were accompanying them were sobbing too though they look more scared than relieved.

"Your daughters?" Bella asked, not remembering if they got kids.

"No, our guests."

The red haired one pulled Bella's sleeve. "Excuse Ma'am. I'm a nurse student. Do you think I can help?"

Angela sighed relieved. "Sure, as a matter of fact, you'll be my assistant today. What's your name, sweetie?"

"I'm Victoria and that's my friend Bree. She's majoring in early childhood education."

Bella was fast to greet them and pulled Bree to her. "We'll let them take Mr. Bronstein to surgery. Come, we, non-medical assistants, need to get our hands to help on another side.

xxx

At the police station, there was much less madness. Mrs. cope managed to fend most of the calls, as the first five minutes after the explosion she thought they were playing a joke on her. Then they got the messages and pictures. That's when she yelled to Chief Swan to come.

His first thought was that someone was fucking them, but then he looked outside and noticed a caterpillar crawling along the street.

He saw a bunch of people running away from said bug, so he yelled at them to come to hide inside the station. He could barricade the door in case it was needed, so it was safer than any other place. First, he needed his other two deputies: the rookie and the old man. They were prancing around the station, Mark on his phone and Waylon with his sudoku book.

"Cope!" He called to his shocked receptionist, "Tell Mark and Waylon I need them here and try to locate Jacob and Embry. They had a long night."

To give him some credit, he ran like crazy to help people around the chaos. He guided them the best he could into the building but had a bit of a problem when in their panic they pushed old Annie Wilcox and she fell.

"My legs! I can't feel them!" The poor old lady cried. "It hurts!"

Charlie lifted her easily and carried her to the station, where Mark relieved him from the weight.

"Chief, we have to take her to the hospital. It looks like she broke her back."

Charlie grumbled. It would be almost impossible to reach the hospital with the cruisers!

"Did you have luck reaching Jacob or Embry?" He asked Mrs. Cope. He was completely aware where they were before this madness and if he didn't trust their abilities to escape this kind of situation he would be worried about their wellbeing.

"No." Mrs. Cope answered sadly. She was a good friend of Annie and didn't like to see her suffering.

Despite his cool demeanor, Charlie was freaking out. He couldn't leave, and he was scared to ask Waylon or Mark to take Annie to the hospital. His answer came in the form of a car driving wildly. It was Newton's car.

"Mark! Stop that car!"

"Yes, sir!"

Rookie or not, Mark wasn't a man to be deterred. He jumped right in front of the path of the car which barely managed to stop, without running over him.

"Man! What the fuck?" A furious Emmet screamed through the window. "I need to get to the hospital ASAP. I have wounded man."

"Wait! We have an old woman hurt too." Mark pleaded. Waylon carried Annie to the car and Mrs. Cope offered to accompany Emmett, in case he needed to find a shortcut.

Once settled, Emmett drove like a madman, leaving only dust behind.

"Mark, try the radio to find where the hell is Jacob. He has to be near."

"Chief, someone is calling from Jacob's car." Waylon, who was dabbling with the radio , said.

"Who is it?" Damn, just what he needed. Jacob was lost.

"Chief, he says he's FBI. They notified their superiors about our town. The army is coming!"

xxx

Emmett managed to avoid the cars blocking the way into the emergency parking of the hospital. He got down and screamed for help.

"Sir, how many wounded do you have?" Bree was following the speech Bella taught her.

"Two, an old woman and a man with a smashed leg."

Bree whistled two times and two young men came by. They managed to get Michael and Annie on a couple of gurneys and led them inside. Emmett lost track of them as soon as everybody got into the emergency room. Throngs of people seated wherever they could, waiting for their loved ones or for some answers.

"MC!" Bella called him.

"Little Bella!" He smiled, happy to find one familiar face in this madness. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping with whatever I can." Then Bella looked around. "Why are you here?"

"Mr. Newton got hurt." To answer to her questioning look, he added. "Tony and JW went to help Tanya."

The wails of a little boy made them turn to the back. There a kid stood with his dog.

"Do you think they'll let him keep it?" Emmett asked.

"Given the circumstances... I think they will. If not, we could take him to the lab." Bella winked at Emmett and walked to tend to the kid.

"What's your name, sweetie?" Bella got on her knees, to get to the kid's level.

"Tod." The kid whispered.

"Where's your Mom?" Emmett asked, feeling sorry for the possible answer.

"I brought him here."

'That voice' Bella thought her ears were playing a trick on her. But it was entirely possible.

"Thanks, Miss..." Emmett thanked the blond woman.

"Rosalie Hale. Hello Bella. It's been so long."


	19. Chapter 18

Emmett looked up to see the face of the woman owner of such a sexy voice. He wasn't disappointed to find she was the most beautiful woman he ever saw. And she was so hot!

"Hello Rosalie," Bella muttered unenthusiastically. Deep inside she knew she was bound to meet Rosalie if she stayed in Micanopy long enough.

Emmett, despite being dazzled by the beauty of Rosalie, knew he had to find out what was going on with this kid. Bella could introduce him to Rosalie later.

"Hey, Tod. Where is your family?"

"Miss Rose told me we could find my Mommy here. But there are too many people around!" Tod answered between sobs.

Emmett looked at Rosalie who shook her head, indicating Tod's mother didn't make it.

"Well, Tod. I'm Emmett. Why don't we look around to see who else we can find? Maybe someone else..." Emmett wondered if Tod's daddy was around, or maybe a brother or a sister.

"My Grandpa Waylon is a police officer," Tod said, more at ease now. Emmett was glad at least the boy had a family member alive, though, in these circumstances, nothing was written in stone.

"Well, let's look. Maybe we can find a treat for your furry friend."

And like that, Emmett took care of the kid, leaving Bella alone with Rosalie.

"I never thought I would see you again," Rose whispered without emotion.

"Well, I never thought I would come back, but here I am." Bella didn't know what to say. She still felt betrayed by who she thought was her best friend. "So you brought this little kid here?"

"Yes, he was crying alone and I watched how one of those creatures killed his mother."

"Oh, so you have a heart," Bella whispered but Rosalie heard her.

"Get off your high horse! You can't play the victim all the time. If I recall correctly, you weren't as innocent as you play."

"How do you dare to... I was... not innocent my ass"

Carlisle arrived, quickly interrupting Bella outraged mumblings. "Bella! I need help over here. We need to find small vehicles, like motorcycles or scooters. It's almost impossible to move around in a car and we may need to bring back the injured." Carlisle noticed the tension between Bella and the blond tall woman. Jesus! They didn't have the time to deal with ghosts of Bella's past. "Marcus didn't come alone. These are Agent Felix Bauer and agent Demetri Welch."

"Girls." Demetri greeted them before continuing with the task of bringing the equipment Marcus brought to the lab.

On the way to the hospital, they decided to split in teams. Carlisle, Clapp, and Marcus would work at the lab, trying to find an antidote for the venom or something that could trespass the thick coat of fur to have a chance to kill those caterpillars. Felix, Demetri, and James decided to help bringing to safety the rest of the townsfolk. Esme, Emily, and the other two kids were commanded to help around the hospital. Esme's mad organizing skills and the authority that emanated from her would be helpful to bring that chaos to order. Riley, being the most skilled one on the motorcycle would be in charge to spread the word around town of where people would find refuge.

"Hmm, excuse me." Rose walked fast to reach Carlisle. "My car is a Mini Cooper. I think you could find it useful as it's really small. It's fully loaded with gas so you can drive it for a while."

Felix heard the woman and thanked her, taking the keys she was holding in her hand.

Meanwhile, Esme was fast to pull Bella aside.

"I need a little favor."

"Sure, Esme. What can I do for you?" Bella had to admit she was intrigued.

"We have some things we would like to save, away from prying eyes." Esme's meaningful glare to Rose made Bella understand that she wanted to hide something from Rose.

"Sure, we have a locker inside the lab. Come, let me show you."

While Bella guided Esme back to the lab to hide the files and Alec's camera, Angela was back to the lobby where she heard Felix and Demetri trying to set up a route for Riley.

"Hey, guys!" Both turned to look at her. "I'm Dr. Webber, sorry but I couldn't avoid hearing what you're planning. I may have someone who could help us and he's right on the other side of town. See, because of an emergency, one of our deputies stayed at my house. He can spread your message with an old megaphone I have. He could also point if there are injured or someone in need of help, he has his radio on."

Demetri couldn't believe their luck, first the car and now a cop was right where they needed him. Now he only had to check how much time they had left before the help arrived.

Angela called Embry, who was still asleep, and told him what to do and where to find what he needed. It seemed like the whole town would be safe by the time the army came by.

xxx

Jacob climbed the stairs that led to the apartment above the police station using the hidden stairs in the alley behind. He gave a quick glance to his surroundings, finding the Chief and Mark busy carrying a man hurt inside. He must have to tread carefully if he wanted to remain inconspicuous. He was very clever to raid Aro's office first, as he managed to get the last set of keys from the apartment and also a bit of cash he had in his safe. For a man who bragged about his astuteness, he was very stupid to use Jame's birthday as the password.

Soon, Jacob prepared the apartment for the guest he was about to bring. His plan was coming to fruition without a flaw. He had money, a place to hide, and soon he will have the last piece to achieving happiness. Soon.

xxx

The Johnson's yard was empty but the remains of the party were scattered around. Plastic vases and plates, balloons and streamers laying on the grass. Edward was worried for a second until he looked up and found Tanya's van blocking the back door of the house.

Suddenly, the yells of many people trying to get their attention made them realize all the guests were clumped in the upper floor.

"Help!"

"A caterpillar got inside!"

Jasper turned around and sure enough, he saw how one fat caterpillar managed to break the picture window at the front of the house and got stuck. It couldn't get inside or get out. But with those spines and the fact the could spit acid, it was too dangerous to try to break in.

Tanya yelled: "We need you to help us. We can open the window and climb to the roof of the van. But then we need your help to reach the floor."

Edward answered it was ok, but when he got to the van he noticed it wasn't firmly planted on the floor. One of the wheels was stuck in a brick planter. That's why they didn't dare to jump down.

"Hey, Tan! Why don't you make a rope out of sheets and tie one end to some heavy furniture? That way the ones who are upstairs could bear the weight of one adult and we can help him to get to the floor."

A male head came out of the window and voiced the understanding of the adults upstairs. Not five minutes later, one end of the sheet rope hit the roof of the van. Seth was the first man to come down, as he was too tall and brawny to wait for later. He easily used the rope to slide from the wall to the van. Jasper and Edward barely managed to keep the van still when he jumped down to the floor. The three of them tried to push the van out fo the brick planter, but it was still too heavy.

"One more man, please!" Jasper yelled.

Two other dads later, they finally made it and the van was firm over the floor. Edward climbed to the roof and helped the rest of the people to get down, only to led them to Seth's waiting arms. Soon, everybody was down.

"Now what?" Seth asked.

Tanya tried to start the van and asked about Michael.

"He had an accident," Jasper said, with his hand rubbing the back of his neck. "MC took him to the hospital. I think we should go there."

"But there are more of those things, right?" Heidi asked, worried of how a group so big could avoid being attacked by those bugs.

Sue, who was soothing a few kids who were crying, was the one with the best idea.

"Why don't we let the kids care of those raccoons you have in that box? They can ride in the van and the rest of us could walk at the side. You know, to keep an eye on the road. Janice, you will supervise." Janice was a heavily pregnant woman, who just lost her husband to the caterpillar that got stuck.

With a few whimpers and cries of the kids, who were too scared to be separated from their parents, they started the walk to the hospital.

"What happened to Michael?" Tanya walked by Edwards side, a few steps behind from the rest.

"A lamppost fell on his leg." Tanya's brows almost left her face. "Emmett took him to the hospital quite fast, but Michael was adamant we needed to rescue you. He was worried, you know"

Tanya shook her head. "Stubborn old man."

"What happened to make you all go to the second floor?"

"It was awful! One of the parents was trying to get on video the caterpillar and the stupid fell on a pile of squeaky toys. Well, the noise made the caterpillar crazy and it crawled so fast to the window. We got lucky that it got stuck, but the thing expelled something like acid that melted his face. Worst, when he fell, a spine pierced through his abdomen. I covered the remains with a sheet, to not scare those poor kids anymore."

Edward sighed. The way Tanya recounted the incident, it was a stupid way to find death. On the other hand, now they knew certain noises upset the caterpillars.

xxx

They were lucky enough to walk across town without an incident. Once they were close to the police station, Edward felt like someone was watching him.

"Hey! We can help you here!" Chief Swan called to the group. He was in dire need to get everyone inside because those FBI guys told him the army's help would arrive any minute now.

Tanya reluctantly agreed to wait inside. She was aware of the kind of help they should expect from the army.

xxx

Embry felt a bit stupid riding on Angela's segway. A lot more than stupid when he had to stop to use the megaphone. As far as he could see, this side of town was already empty. He set Mrs. Rachel house as his last stop. It was at the far end of town and there was no way she would leave her home without her cats.

"Embry, do you copy me?" That was Waylon calling him again. "Embry, we need you to hurry. The army is about to send their help any second."

"Urgh!" Embry growled. Yeah, he was about to arrive to Mrs. Rachel's home, but then what? What was the army supposed to do? In his mind, he was picturing tanks coming to the edge of town, ready to attack the caterpillars. Surely those soldiers would notice a young deputy trying to save an old woman, right? Then he remembered a few films where the army didn't care if there were civilians running around before launching an attack.

"Mrs. Rachel! Hey!" He better move fast, just in case.

xxx

Bella was looking through the window expectantly. Marcus made everyone aware of the upcoming answer from the army, and the men, the ones who were healthy, made their best effort to block the hospital entrance. Most of the people were waiting at the lobby, but Bella felt crowded, and she wanted to see what was going on.

"Do you mind if we wait with you?" MC along with Alice and Alec were standing at the door.

"No, come and take a seat." She pointed to the old chairs and stools around the lab.

"Do you think they will bring tanks?" MC was kind of excited to see the action.

"No, they use more sophisticated weapons now. Probably an airstrike." Alec answered.

Bella's phone vibrated with an upcoming text. "Hmm, Carlisle said they're coming."

The four of them stood and watched through the window, waiting to see what the army planned to do to help Micanopy.

* * *

 **So now we have everybody inside a building. How do you think the army will help? Will they kill those caterpillars?**

 **See ya soon :)**


	20. Chapter 19

If you were at any street of Micanopy at this right moment, you would be shocked. There were some creatures wandering around; for them, the previous fear subsided to leave hunger in its place. Then there was something else, something disturbing if you thought about it. It was silence. Complete and absolute silence.

Inside the hospital building, a hundred people were watching through the windows, no one daring to utter a word in case it attracted the unwanted presence of a caterpillar. A few, the ones at the lowest floor inside a lab, they were trying to get on film what they believe would be an epic attack from the army.

The police station was the same. Only there, one young deputy was the one in charge of filming as he was the only man tall enough to get his torso through the bars from windows of the precinct. Sure, there was another pair of eyes watching, but those eyes were looking for something else.

At the edge of town, the house that held two humans and about a dozen cats was in complete silence too. It was like the animals knew they were meant to keep it quiet too.

Soon, the buzz of propellers spinning grew higher, like a humming buzz. The buzz grew as tiny black dots were visible. The people at the hospital couldn't believe their eyes and they were sure to whisper their opinion.

"You have to be kidding me," Jasper whispered.

"Are those things what I think they are?" Bella shocked voice wondered

"Oh yes. They sent drones!" Felix nodded. He decided to join them when he found it impossible to have a complete view from another floor window. "They're the ultimate weapon when you want precision. They're supposed to come, shoot and leave, without hurting any innocent life."

The little dots got closer to the streets, guided by someone far behind. They located the first caterpillar who soon was surrounded by five drones which started to shoot. For thirty seconds the soft sounds of the bullets bumping into the caterpillar's thick cover were all everybody could hear.

Marcus was talking softly with someone in charge of the operation, explaining in detail that the cocoon-like cover of the caterpillar was too thick and strong for that weapon.

The caterpillar got annoyed by the soft blows. It noticed with curiosity one flying object and lifted it's legs to shoo it away. Better, it threw a sensible amount of acid, that soon melted the drone.

xxx

At the police station, deputy Mark was too excited. The cavalry was coming!

"Hey folks, fasten your britches. This party is about to start!"

What they witnessed, wasn't so different as the view from the hospital. Half-dozen of drones descended to shoot the small group of caterpillars next to the station, only to get crushed by one overzealous caterpillar which lifted enough of its body to crush the drones.

xxx

Aro decided to wait for a while. He found the silence full of dread, the anticipation of something big about to happen. He didn't have to look through a window as his surveillance cameras brought him all the action outside his house.

He watched how a few drones flew to where one lost caterpillar was crawling. They shoot non-stop for one minute without making any damage to the creature. Aro watched how the annoyed bug threw spines toward the drones, jamming the propellers and making them fall down.

"Hmm, so now what?" He wondered.

He walked to his desk, where a map of Micanopy laid with tiny flags upon it. Aro marked where he knew the people was gathering, in case he decided to get out. He heard Embry's voice when he patrolled nearby, calling everybody to get safe.

"My stash from the apartment above the police station is out of the question. But maybe the one from the store upon Tuscawilla Road would suffice." He needed the money desperately, so he could get in touch with his contact for a new set of IDs.

An alarm rang and Aro ran to his camera system to watch what was going on.

A caterpillar's head got stuck with a drone which was melting because of the acid. In its wild run, the caterpillar didn't see where it was going so it got stuck in the fence. A low beeping sound alerted him of something else about to happen.

Bam!

The drone exploded, taking with it the upper body of the caterpillar, killing it but keeping the remains still cocooned by its protective exterior.

"Shit! Their hair can endure a bomb!"

Aro decided to wait a bit more inside his house. No need to hurry anymore.

xxx

After the last drone found its demise, the shocked crowd at the hospital's lobby burst in hysteria.

"We're gonna die!"

"We're doomed!"

"Who's gonna save us!"

Marcus had to make use of all his authority to calm them.

"We're going to keep working on our plan. Right now agent Felix is talking with his contact in the army. They'll work another plan. Now, we need to work in tandem to make it out of this crisis alive. I need a few of you to go down to the kitchen. Make an inventory and some sandwiches or something for lunch."

A few women and two or three men stood up and walked to where the kitchen was located.

"Who has knowledge about electricity, generators, plumbing?" A few more lifted their hands. "Ok, go and chek the emergency generator. We can't risk getting out of electricity."

Soon Marcus had everybody busy. So he went with Carlisle to the room adjoined to the lab. All the equipment he brought was too big for the room where Carlisle settled.

"Bella, I need you to get me the things on this list. We'll wait for you at the lab."

Bella nodded unenthusiastically. She was worried that in their desperation to find anything to kill the caterpillars, Marcus or Clapp would harm Bob.

She was pulling alcohol and other substances from a supply closet when Rose passed by, her arms full of towels and sheets.

"What happened between the two of you? You were great friends." Esme asked, completely unaware of the shock reflected on the girl's faces.

"Hmm, well, we got a disagreement," Rose said.

"Yeah, some people doesn't know how to work in a team," Bella muttered, still bitter.

Rose stopped and answered ."Some people doesn't know to not take other people toys."

"Right, because that toy wasn't a willing participant."

"Then, you admit it! You play with him!"

"I didn't 'play' with him. He was accosting me." Bella dropped the bottles into a table and got closer to Rose, who did the same. "And that never justified you to steal from me!"

"It wasn't a steal. I worked on that project too!"

Esme was watching their argument. It was like a tennis match. Soon, many bystanders got closer, they also wanted to know why two close friends as Bella and Rose fought to never speak again.

"I never lead him on! I told you he was following me."

"So, I told you I needed help, but no, you were on your high horse 'if you can't work at my level, then find another team'"

"I wasn't that callous."

"Of course you were! I told you I needed to keep my grades and you blew me off!"

Now they were head to head, and Esme worried this fight would escalate

"Hmm, girls. Maybe it was a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding? She stole my boyfriend!" An irate Rose exclaimed.

"I didn't! He said you were over. And even then, I rejected him. He surprised me with that kiss!"

Esme just stood with her mouth open. Never she would have thought Bella being the one who kissed rose's boyfriend. Maybe the other way...

"And what did Rose steal from you, Bella?"

Bella huffed and turned to Esme. "We were working on our final biology project. She gave me something to sleep and she went early to show OUR project as hers. I almost failed!"

"Fail? You had perfect grades. I told you I have a problem following up. I was about to lose my scholarship!"

Esme finally began to understand. She remembered how a few years ago Aro asked what she thought about Rosalie, to help her with her tuition in hopes she would come back to work for him. He was so disappointed in James and Rose clearly had a clever mind.

"So you failed Biology and that's when my husband helped you, right?"

Rose nodded. "I was desperate. There was no way I would come back empty handed."

"Why? You mother was an angel, not like my Dad." Bella said.

"An angel? God, you're so blind. She was about to sell me to the best bider. She was looking for a husband for me!" Then Rose face softened a bit. "Well, she was also looking for a husband for you. Your father was very clear he wanted us out of town."

Bella gasped. It wasn't possible! Well, if she was honest, it was very possible and pretty obvious. she never understood why her father hated her so much.

"Still, you shouldn't have tried to pass our work for yours. It didn't help you anyway, you were lucky he didn't report you." With those last words, Bella turned around and left the lobby. She needed a few minutes alone.

Rose just lifted the towels and turned t leave.

"So it WAS a misunderstanding. Did you love that guy so much to lose a friend over him?"

"I didn't love him, it was just the principle of the matter. She broke my trust first. Then she wasn't there to help me. Despite being ME the one who pushed her to apply for those scholarships. WE needed to leave this town behind. Look how good it turned out for me."

Rose turned around and left, making Esme wonder why, if she was that bitter, did she choose to stay.

xxx

At the police station, Waylon was describing their situation by the phone to a very concerned Angela. They had a few injured in dire need of treatment, but it was dangerous outside.

"Well, let me bring Felix to talk to you. It seems he has a plan."

"Hey, officer Waylon Hoskins?"

"Yeah? What do you suggest we do, sir?"

"How many healthy men you have in there?"

Waylon hesitated so Charlie went back to get the call from him. "I estimate twenty. There's a big bunch who came over here from a kids party, they are some sort of armed and had a vehicle that can let us bring the injured. Do you think you could help us to free the road?"

Felix huffed as one of the injured started to wail.

"You know what? It's decided. We're leaving here to get to you." The Chief hung up and sighed. "God helps us to reach them in one piece."

xxx

Bella got inside their lab, happy to find Bob alone. She threw him bits of salad and was happy just basking in silence. After al the ruckus outside, confrontations with ex-friends, and the disappointment of the drone attack, she needed to sort her thoughts.

She knew Rose was hurt, it was obvious, but she was sure it was her pride, not her heart the one who suffered. But she knew Bella needed perfect grades to get into her master program. They've discussed it! And about Tom or Tod, she couldn't remember his name, Rose was about to break up wth him because he was a nuisance!

A little head poked through the door. It was Alice, or as Bella knew her, Mary.

"Hmm, are you feeling fine? You can talk to me, you know? I mean, I know we started with the wrong foot, but I'm a nice person. You just met me at the wrong time and your friend kind of rubs me the wrong way. I think we can become friends, that is if you want it." She blurted all her speech without stopping to breath.

Bella couldn't help but smile at Mary's tirade.

"Sure."

The petite girl managed to walk between the mess that was the lab to take a seat beside Bella.

"So you and the blond were friends? I had a fall out with my roommate too. But we weren't that close at all. She just liked to steal my clothes and one day I got enough of her."

Bella's smile grew, but her eyes were still sad.

"We've known each other our whole life. She's a week older than me." She sighed, remembering old conjoint birthday parties. Like it or not, Rosalie was a big part of her life. "You know the worst part? The day she found us, he kissed me on purpose. I slapped him and she kneed him in the groin. We left together, the best friends as always! I thought she understood it was all on him, but now I realize she faked it to get my project." Then Bella looked at the window.

Alice, sensing Bella wanted a few minutes alone after she got quiet, decided to leave. "Well, I'm going to the vending machine for a soda. If you want anything you know where to find me."

And like a soft blur, she was gone.

Bella was lost in memories of her childhood. Rosalie was a big part of each one. When did things start to change? Sure, Rose was blunt and had little patience for no one other than Bella, but who gave her her first and only Barbie? Rosalie. Who stole her mother's make-up to play with her? Rosalie and that earned both of them a week of punishment.

Certainly, they were tight. But it all changed at college. There, Bella's ambition and intelligence made her advance way faster than Rose. Maybe there was a bit of resentment from Rose? But when Bella found Rose stole their project, the one that Bella wanted to show to Dr. Carlisle Cullen, her future mentor, that's when Bella lost it.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice when the door opened slowly. She also missed the dark shadow coming inside, stealthy coming her way.

So when she finally noticed someone was behind her was too late.

"What are you doing here?"

She tried to fight him, but the sweet scent of chloroform inundated her nostrils and then everything turned black.

* * *

Hi!

Sorry! I was on vacation and then you know that when you come back you get behind on laundry or at work, so I'm late posting and answering to your reviews.

But now I think I'm back to my regular schedule. So, what do you think about the cliffy?

See ya!


	21. Chapter 20

Jacob Black was a man with a great sense of hearing. Some may say that he was nosy, but in reality, he could eavesdrop easily any conversation without being in proximity to the source. This talent proved to be useful in his profession, though his best use of it came from hearing conversations not meant for him from his superiors. Through time, he found many interesting things from Aro and Charlie, like the real reason why Charlie hated Bella so much, or the sad tale of Aro's erectile dysfunction which deprived Aro of cheating on Esme with all those willing women fawning over him. Pity.

For now, he was completely aware that to achieve his goals he needed to leave the apartment inconspicuously and locate Bella quickly. He made use of his advantaged hearing, by crawling to the back of the building, where he got to the station back window. Waylon was talking to someone over the phone, and his booming voice made his work too easy. That's how he found out Bella was at the hospital and that help was coming soon. He didn't have time to waste!

So with his tools ready in a duffel bag, he went his merry way to the hospital.

The drone attack caught him in the middle of the way, forcing him to hide under a car. The drones passed by and recognize him as a human, leaving him alone and cleaning his way from caterpillars.

He reached the hospital without being noticed. The firs part of his plan was done.

Now was when the difficult part started. First, he managed to crawl from the back to one of the abandoned rooms of the hospital. He had to be real careful because this was the area where Bella's lab was located. He gave a glance around, no one was near. It was time to go.

Soon, he found himself sliding through the window of an abandoned storage room, full of broken chairs and tables. Perfect.

He prepared his tools, as he knew Bella wouldn't come willingly with him.

Now, a careful glance through the door let him know someone was talking to Bella. Now, he just had to wait. The door from the lab opened, and the young girl who was living with Esme passed by. Jacob waited until she turned at the end of the hallway to make his move.

Slowly, carefully, he opened the door. Bingo! Bella was lost in her thoughts. It was now or never.

He walked to her, with a rag soaked if chloroform in his hand. Bella turned to look at him at the last second but it was too late.

"What are you doing here?"

He covered her nose and mouth with the rag and not two seconds later, she was unconscious.

He laid her on a chair while he opened his bag to get the ropes to tie her. He heard some rustling and noticed the little caterpillar in its cage.

"Oh, aren't you cute?"

Bob didn't waste time and threw acid on the table where Jacob's bag rested, melting the rest of his inventory.

"Oh shit!"

Bob hissed and tried to make the most noise it could. But Jacob didn't waste time and got Bella into his arms. Better run now before someone came to look at the mess this shit was doing. At least his little trolley was waiting outside, otherwise, he wouldn't know how to carry Bella to the apartment.

xxx

Charlie Swan, who despite all his flaws was a leader to the community, was unsure on how to proceed. The weight of his responsibility making him sweat.

Mrs. Jameson arrived with an exposed elbow fracture and by now she passed out and gained consciousness twice. Her pain was unbearable! Not to mention her cries. And she wasn't the only one. Poor Janice was suffering from a terrible headache and her blood pressure, according to Mark, was skyrocketing. Not the ideal situation for a pregnant woman. She had to get medical attention immediately!

"Chief Swan, what are we gonna do?" Mark cried from his post over the entrance.

"Hmm, excuse me." Jasper interrupted. "I think we managed to get here with a reasonable velocity and if we are honest, using the van to carry the kids and the ailings seems to be the safest path to follow."

They had already discussed this, but Chief Swan still had doubts. What if they found one of those nasty insects and it killed them? What if they take too long to arrive at the hospital?

"And if we found one of those things, what do you suggest we do?"

"They are easily distracted. We found certain noises can get their attention. Maybe set a group to get its attention while the others pass it." Jasper proposed.

Edward was standing quietly. He wasn't sure if the old man hated his guts for being with Bella, or if he was interested at all. Better not push his luck.

"And you already told them we were going." Waylon pointed.

"Ok. Move! Get all the lamps and the radio. We're leaving."

xxx

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Carlisle noticed Bella still hadn't arrived with the materials he asked.

"Clapp, do you mind if I look around for Bella?"

"Hmm? Oh right. She probably got lost in those hallways. I tell you, when they built this hospital, they thought the town would grow like Jacksonville. So much disappointment when nothing of the kind happened. So if you're going outside anyway, could you bring a few metal containers? I'm not sure these plastic ones will resist."

Carlisle nodded and left. He walked firstly to where the supplies closet was located, but it was empty. Next, he tried to find Mrs. Volturi as she seemed in charge of everything around here. But who he found first was Dr. Webber.

"Hey, Dr. Cullen. Had you seen Bella?"

"No. I've been waiting for her."

"Well, last I knew, she had a few words with Rosalie Hale. Long time coming for those two, but after the fight, she asked to be left alone and now she vanished."

Carlisle got quiet. Bella wasn't like this. Well, she liked to mull alone but she wasn't one to disappear, less in a situation like this one.

"Oh, you mean the brunette woman who was with you this morning?" A chirpy red-headed girl was passing by and heard them.

"Yeah. Bella works with Dr. Cullen at the lab. Is she already a doctor?"

Carlisle smiled and nodded. "Just last year."

"Oh my! I so wish I was there with her." Angela sighed, very proud of her friend accomplishments. "So did you see her?"

"Well, I'm not completely sure it was her, but one guy was carrying a brunette woman dressed like her. I thought she passed out after seeing so much blood. I mean, my mother does it. So I thought he was taking her to one of the gurneys we set in the back."

Angela had a bad feeling about it. "How did that man look?"

"Oh, he was very tall and buff. With dark blue pants and sweatshirt. He was very tanned and had black hair."

Angela almost passed out. "Damn Jacob!"

xxx

Edward, Jasper, and Mark were at the front of the caravan on the way to the hospital. They were halfway there, between the tension and the fear, they were quietly cleaning the road for Tanya with the van.

"Shh. Stop!" Edward whisper-yelled. He was sure he heard something.

Mark gave their surrounding a thorough once-over, but he didn't find anything moving.

Edward gave a few steps to the right, crawling to one overturned table. Sure enough, a caterpillar was busy munching on the abandoned fruit section of the grocery store.

"It's still inside, but I'm not sure if we could continue without it noticing." He said to the other two men.

"So how are gonna do this?" Jasper asked, rolling up his sleeves, ready for the action.

"I could make a distraction. Throw trash cans or something and you make Tanya move forward fast." Mark offered.

"You're not going alone. I'm coming with you." Edward offered. "I'm really fast running and Jasper is a better driver in case Tanya needs help."

So once hey made the rest aware of the plan, Mark and Edward crawled in direction of the grocery store.

"We can use this." Edward pointed to a box full of aluminum pots "We climb to a tree and throw the pots and the lids to different directions."

"Yeah, sounds good. I'll get over that tree."

"I'll go to that one. Remember to the count of three."

Soon the guys, with their load of pots got to their places. Jasper and the others were fast to clean the road for Tanya and were ready to Edward's signal.

He made the signs with his hands. One. Two. Three...

Edward threw the first pot to the far left side. the clash of the metal on the ground was enough to get the caterpillar's attention and it stopped eating. When it showed his front over the grocery store entrance, Mark threw another one to the opposite side.

The caterpillar crawled, curious about what was making that annoying sound.

Clash! To the left. The caterpillar moved to that side only to stop when a crash from the other side stopped it.

Left, right, left, right. The caterpillar was dizzy and in its haste to reach the source of the noise, it rolled and ended upside down; its little legs moving desperately trying to get it back to the ground.

For the first time in his life, Charlie manned up. He had a spiel on his hand and an idea occur to him. He took one of the Molotov cocktails from the van and ran to the caterpillar. He threw the molotov cocktail and tried to hit the caterpillar with the spiel.

One of them worked, as the interior of the cocoon-like hair burned.

"Yeeeaaaaah!" Everybody cheered. They finally managed to kill one.

While they were cheering and celebrating, no one noticed the man pushing a trolley in the direction of the police station.

xxx

After a few minutes of wallowing in her pain, Rose admitted she had so much more to blame herself. She knew she and Bella would never be so good friends as they used to be, but at least they could make a truce for the time being.

She finished distributing the towels and sheets as they were needed and got back downstairs to the lab where she was sure to find Bella.

She found a mess in the room, an interesting combination of scents as one sweet and one caustic irritated her nose.

"Bella?" She turned on the rest of the lights only to find a mess of goo in one of the tables, and an angry caterpillar trashing in its cage. "What the hell happened here?"

Careful to avoid the goo on the table she investigated what was causing the smell. The table had remnants of something like a cloth with a zipper... a duffel bag maybe? A roll of duck tape laid a few inches from the mess and a butterfly knife was starting to rust. That's when it downed on her. This was acid. Then what was the sweet smell around here?

She walked around the table, careful to not touch the acid-burned remains. Finally, at the side of the cage, she found a broken bottle. She knew what it was as soon as she saw it. Chloroform.

Someone kidnapped Bella!

She left the lab in a hurry, calling to whoever could hear her. "Help! Help!"

Dr. Clapp heard the noise and went to investigate who was troubling him when he was so close to discovering what substances created the caterpillars. He found Rose running to him.

"Help! Someone kidnapped Bella!"

Clapp thought 'just what we needed' and offered his arm to calm Rosalie, dropping his papers. She helped him to lift them when she noticed the list of what he was analyzing.

Her eyes got big as saucers. Could it be possible that... No, it can't be.

"Hmm, sorry Doctor. I'm just scared because whoever did it left a mess in the lab and me..."

"Shh, shh. It's ok. Come, let's have a look around."

He gave her the papers and walked with her back to the lab. While he was looking around, Rose gave a closer look to the papers. Residuals of toxic substances such as hydrochloride of... along with enzymes like... Rose paled. For someone who struggled with biology in college, she was very aware of the substances mentioned in that papers. Rust from the metal cans. A picture of a side of said cans. Damn! Now she was sure. The toxic residuals they dropped inside those trees a few months ago were responsible for the caterpillars!


	22. Chapter 21

Bella opened her eyes slowly, she was still feeling dizzy. The room where she was sitting was bright and it hurt her eyes. She tried to cover them with her hand, but she couldn't move it. A little shake on both hands made her realize they were cuffed.

"Oh, finally you woke up. Let me close the curtains."

Oh, no! It was Jacob. What was she doing with him, with her hands tied? Oh... Then she remembered.

"Y-y-yoouu b-bass-t-tard!" She barely could talk, her throat was rough and she knew to avoid anything Jacob would bring to her.

"Yeah, yeah. Poor you, I'm a bad, bad guy. Now, we could lament your situation or work. You know, we have lots to do and I need you awake for the next step of my plan."

"Where..."

"In a little apartment Aro kept in town. Far from prying ears, so don't bother screaming. No one will hear you. Oh, and you could attract those beasts. We don't want that to happen, right?"

He tied her legs to the chair and untied one of her hands.

"I'm leaving you this here and it's all you will drink while I pack. Don't try to free your other hand, I have the key." He dangled a bunch of keys over her eyes after leaving a bottle of water beside her.

She desperately opened the bottle, a hardship since she only had one hand to do it, but she managed and almost emptied the bottle. She was so thirsty.

"Why?"

"Hmm, let's see. You're too stubborn to recognize how right we are together, so taking a bit of advantage of the current situation, I decided to bring you to me. A few days together and you finally will see what I'm talking about. Besides, it isn't as your pretty boy will survive. Last time I saw him, he was fighting a bug, with the help of Charlie! Really, that's a disaster waiting to happen, besides, no one had survived an attack. So, I got you for me. And before you think about it, you can't escape. I covered every entry on this apartment; so no one, be a man or a bug, will get inside and you can't get away. Meanwhile, I need to arrange a few details before we make our great escape."

"Escape?"

"To Aro's island! We are taking some liberties with Aro's assets because I'm sure he won't need them. He bought an island in Brazil. Imagine, the sun, warm sand, and you and me, alone. We'll be together forever!"

Bella gasped. He was delusional! But one thing was sure, she was trapped in that apartment for the moment.

xxx

"Hmm, the chloroform is almost evaporated, I'm sure whoever took Bella is far away. Now, what should we do? It isn't as we can spare people to search for her. And it would be a suicide mission, with those things parading outside."

Rose wasn't paying attention to Clapp's soliloquy. She was remembering the night she and James dropped the chemical waste into those trees. She remembered other occasions, one particularly interesting when Aro threw the waste from his experiments into Esme's award-winning garden. They kept it from her for a while, but when the flowers mutated and the whole lot went dry, they knew they have to cover it. If she only remembered where she saved the file on those flowers

"... now if we only found what created those things..."

Rose couldn't hold it anymore.

"We did it!"

"What did you say?"

"We did it. We threw our waste on those trees." Rose started to sob. "It wasn't the first time."

xxx

Edward, Jasper, and Mark were the firsts to reach the hospital.

Mark was fast to run to the lobby and get help. Tanya was next with the van. They couldn't get any closer, so they needed gurneys for the injured.

Angela found Edward looking around for someone and she wasn't sure how he will take it when she told him that someone kidnapped Bella.

"Hey! Dr. Webber! Do you know where is..." Edward noticed Angela's eyes wincing. Something happened...

"He took her." She whispered.

"What? Who?"

"Jacob. He took Bella and, and I don't know where they have gone." By now Angela, Carlisle, Emmett and Alice searched through the whole building. Only Carlisle remained at the lab, hearing the explanation Rosalie was giving about the chemical waste. Angela briefly described what they found in the lab and their suspicions of how Jacob drugged Bella and how Bob tried to stop him.

Edward wanted to cry. That damn bastard! It was so dangerous outside for someone walking alone, least carrying someone unconscious. Where could he have taken her?

The other part of the group, mostly Mark and Jasper, helped bringing the injured inside so they could receive medical attention. Tanya ran to her husband. But a man stayed behind. He didn't mean to hear Angela, but he couldn't help but stop when she mentioned Bella and Jacob. Now, Charlie Swan was never the best father, well, not even a decent one. But he was aware of Jacob's obsession. And deep inside he didn't want any harm to come to Bella. Sighing, he thought of one place where Jacob could be hiding. Yep, there was one place where he would be safe. And to think they were so close to him... obviously, Jacob was taking advantage of the chaos. Carefully, avoiding to get anyone's attention, Charlie started his way back to the station. He knew where Jacob was hiding Bella.

xxx

When Mark narrated the way they killed the caterpillar, Felix and Demetri jumped in joy. There was a way to kill them! Sure, it wasn't an easy one, and they were plotting on ways to make those things roll to their backs. If only they had more weapons!

Mark mentioned they brought the complete mini-arsenal held at the police station, but apart from a couple of shotguns, there wasn't much they could use. Felix thought they could make more Molotov cocktails, but still, it wasn't enough. They called Lieutenant Jones with the news.

"But we are limited to the few weapons we had here." Felix sent Jones a picture of what they gathered. "We are estimating a bit less than a hundred caterpillars. What we have isn't enough!"

"I'll see what I can send, but it's too dangerous. My superiors are thinking on using plan B if we can't contain them by tomorrow."

"Plan B?" Demetri asked, but deep inside he knew what he was talking about. Plan B was always the same. Blow out the town.

"Hmm... wait! There are more weapons available, not enough, but I think they can give you a fair chance to survive the night while we plan something better. Remember I mentioned the Newtons? The owners of the dinner? Well, they are retired FBI agents. They still help... they must have something at their home."

xxx

Rose was searching like crazy for a hidden file. Unbeknownst to Aro, Rose always managed to get something as a backup in case he tried to incriminate her. Mainly, proofs of his deals, results of the failed experiments. Now, the jewel of her crown was Esme's garden. She had proof of how Aro tampered with growing hormones that led to flowers which tried to eat each other. Obviously, it ended with all killing themselves, but maybe it could lead to some solution for the caterpillar problems.

"Are you sure Rose? Because I think it's different to make something grow this much than to make those plants attack each other." Now Emmett had a difficult time picturing plants with giant jaws trying to bit each other. He volunteered at the lab because he wanted to help somehow to find a way to kill the caterpillars.

But it seemed that at the moment, nobody had any idea of what could help.

"But the guy at the lab mention something about the same principle. Look, those caterpillars aren't only bigger but they are also more ferocious. That was the problem with the flowers. At first sight, we thought they only were bigger, but then an analysis of the soil revealed that the roots were invading another plant's area, poisoning the soil around their competition and stealing the nutrients. Very similar to what the caterpillars are doing. They throw acid and spines! If I could find those damn pictures!"

Emmett wanted to chuckle at himself. Of course, the plants didn't develop teeth!

Carlisle and Clapp were astounded by what Rosalie mentioned. Aro's research team was disbanded, as he always rotated his employees and managed to get rid of the ones who could piece together the consequences of their research. He only kept few people around. Rose was one of them. The other one constant that was at Micanopy at the moment was James, though Rose was adamant he wasn't aware of many of the tests. He was so desperate to prove his value to Aro that he obeyed without a question and fought to get his own business endeavors.

"Rose, what was he trying to produce with these substances?" Carlisle was curious as what made Aro's team to mix this particular set of materials. He thought another combination would give better results and the mess with the garden could be avoided. Then, of course, he had to think as those men did.

Rose blushed. "Penile enlargement. You have to admit he manage to make those flowers bigger."

Carlisle nodded and hoped Aro never tested this set on animals.

"And the waste in the trees? The one that caused the caterpillars to grow?" Clapp wondered.

Rose got redder and even sweat a bit. "The same, penile enlargement with something else for endurance. It was what the public wanted."

"Rose, where we could find someone who worked with these substances?" Carlisle was thinking that maybe they could be persuaded to help instead of facing charges.

"I don't know. Aro was utterly secretive on how he dealt with them once their work with us was over."

"What happened to the garden?"

"We built a gazebo. In a way, we needed to contain the damage to the soil before it went to the whole area surrounding the house. So we dug and took out the contaminated soil. I don't think that plan would work with our present problem." Rose stared at the window, lost in her memories. "All we ever did was hide the outcomes, we never really dealt with them. They never were so outrageous as the caterpillars. I don't think any of the ex-employees would know what to do. It was like with the garden or the fines, we covered everything with the risk that something would come out one day to bite us in the ass. So we covered the garden and no one was the wiser. Esme didn't like it, but she never knew what we did..."

"What you did to my garden? Is that the reason he sent me to London for a month?"

"Crap," Rose whispered.

xxx

Charlie arrived at the empty police station and sighed. Well, part one of his plan was done, but how to reach the second one? He was sure Jacob would never listen, not if he resorted to kidnapping. It was obvious he descended to a place where reason didn't matter anymore. But maybe if he made him believe it was his only chance to run before the others arrived...

He climbed slowly for the secret passageway that led to the apartment. He could hear how they were arguing because Bella was yelling her arguments, probably in hopes that someone could hear her.

"Are you crazy? I won't let you. It would be rape." Bella huffed. "Besides, you can't do a thing to me before I get my birth control pills."

"Ah, but Bella, you won't be needing birth control. I'm dying to become a father. That way you'll be tied to me forever."

"Are you crazy? I refuse to get pregnant without the proper care. I need to see a doctor. See? Your plan is so farfetched..."

"Meh! We'll only be lost for a few years, once the bustle for this is forgotten, and you finally agree to become my wife, then we'll go back to civilization. Whether we have kids or not remains to be seen."

"Urgh!" Bella grumbled. Jacob was impossible, her only chance was to manage to escape once they leave the apartment.

"And it won't be rape. I know ways to make a woman... to feel certain needs. See, I was a constant observer of Aro's dealings. He managed certain substances that you couldn't see on his official website. He catered for a certain public. There were the ones for endurance, the ones for enlargement, but there were also ones to make the female let's say, needy. Then she became putty in your hands."

"You're an idiot! Those were fake, mere placebos!"

"Well, it doesn't matter. I'll get what I want and you'll have to pray for those things to work."

Charlie couldn't stand it anymore. He took out his gun from the holster and slowly he crawled trough the passageway. When he finally got to the door, he slid carefully, taking advantage of Bella's loud voice and that Jacob had his back to him. Once the door was opened enough for him to come in, he took one step and drew his gun.

"Jacob stop this nonsense." He said in a firm voice.

Jacob paled and jumped, he didn't expect someone less from that part of the apartment and he acted upon instinct. He had a knife in his hand and he launched to tackled the old man.

Bella was looking with eyes like saucers. Did Charlie come to her rescue? Shocking.

When she noticed that Jacob was stronger than Charlie and soon he would have the upper hand, she decided to help. She jumped, tied to chair still, and landed over the two struggling men.

The gun was shot and then everything got quiet.

* * *

 **Sorry for the cliff!**

 **Next chapter will be up before Friday.**

 **So who do you want to be the one shot?**


	23. Chapter 22

The gun was shot and everything got quiet.

Bella mentally did a recount on her body parts, sure she was still tied to the chair, but everything felt fine.

Someone was huffing beneath her, and even if she didn't want to, she knew she had to move. Slowly, she rolled from side to side until her weight pushed her to the left, falling on her back. She saw the blood pooling under the tangle of limbs that were Jacob and Charlie, and to her utter surprise, the one making the noises was Charlie, as Jacob seemed unconscious.

"Bella..."

Charlie whispered, and that's when she noticed he must be the one hurt. He clutched his belly and tried to stand, but wasn't able to do it.

"Shit! Shit, shit, shit." Bella moved her cuffed arm trying to loosen her restraint while kicking the legs of the chair. She found the chair was about to break, giving her the chance to run and check on Charlie.

"Oops!" With one last shove, the chair broke, though she still had the cuffs dangling on her limbs. Still, she crawled quickly to Charlie, in order to assess his injuries.

"Damn! He got you." She noticed the stab over his abdomen. She tried to cover it with her hands but soon she was covered in blood.

"I got him too." Charlie barely managed to say. Certainly, he got Jacob's bicep, but it wasn't life threatening. Jacob passed out because Bella landed on his head, and Charlie was fast to explain that to her. "So he's going to recover soon. You have to leave Bella."

She just shook her head. "No way! I'm taking you to the hospital."

But Bella wasn't stupid. No, sir. Firstly, carefully she dragged Charlie to the side, giving him a rag to try to stop the bleeding. Then, she went to deal with Jacob. She looked around until she noticed the duck tape roll. Quickly, she tied his not-wounded arm to his torso, then proceeded to tie his legs.

"Now, what to do? Yeah, it won't be pretty but it'll had to do." Because she wasn't a soulless killer, she found some gauze and tended to Jacob's injury, then she tied that arm to his torso too, giving a few more layers of duck tape to guarantee he would remain still.

"How did you get up here? It had to be the only way out. The stupid asshole covered all the windows and doors in order to keep everyone out."

"There's a secret passageway." Charlie murmured, "behind that curtain."

Bella managed to pull Charlie to the entrance, and carefully opened the trapdoor. Getting him down into the station without hurting him more would be extremely difficult.

"Don't forget the gun." Charlie wisely pointed out. No need to let one gun to Jacob to try more funny business.

Bella crawled to where Jacob was passed out and recover the gun from under his legs. He didn't even move!

"Maybe the knock will set his brain right."

xxx

Edward wouldn't hear reason, he was adamant to go on a rescue mission for Bella. No matter how much everyone argued about going out with the caterpillars wandering outside was suicide. Worst, he didn't have a plan or a specific place to go. No. He was desperate.

It wasn't until five minutes into an argument with Tanya, that Mark realized Charlie was missing.

"Hey, guys! Do you think it's possible he went to rescue her?"

Now, Edward and Jasper weren't completely aware of the amount of damage on that relationship to share an opinion, but Sue clearly was as she snorted.

"And risk his precious life in order to get her from his golden boy? I don't think so."

"Where could have him have gone?"

"Maybe Aro called him. Charlie is always at his beck and call." It was clear there was not love lost between Sue and Charlie, or Jacob.

By now Esme was back, cursing Aro for his ridiculous experiments. Soon, everybody was arguing about the possible outcomes with the information Rosalie provided. Some were hoping it would lead to a way to kill the caterpillars. Other, maybe the realistic ones, thought they were wasting useful time. And the Bella/Charlie situation was suddenly forgotten. Except for someone...

Edward couldn't think with all the noise so he went to hide inside the room beside the lab. He pulled a map of Micanopy and tried to think where could Jacob had taken Bella. It shouldn't be far, as it was risky to carry a passed out woman. And Jacob didn't seem like the brave kind, so Edward was sure they must be hiding somewhere close to the hospital.

Jasper followed him.

"Are you crazy? It isn't only dangerous but you're about to blow our cover. In case you don't remember WE ARE HIDING!"

Edward sighed. "Amidst this chaos, do you think someone would care?"

"Amidst this chaos, someone may be videoing everything and posting it. How long until someone finds out we're here?"

Begrudgingly, Edward admitted Jasper was right.

"So what? I let him get away with taking her? Maybe you didn't notice it but that man is crazy."

"And what are you going to do? Firstly, if you manage to get out of here unnoticed, which I doubt you'll manage, where are you going? What are you taking to defend yourself, not only from the caterpillars but from Jacob? A gun may help with one but not with the others."

Edward pulled his hair. "I don't know. But I know I can't stay here and do nothing."

"Are you ready to risk your life for a woman you just met? One that you will have to leave once the trial starts?"

"Yes. And I'm not going to leave her."

Jasper was pacing like a caged animal. He couldn't understand how Edward was ready to loose everything for Bella. Sure, they connected. In other circumstances, they could probably have a nice relationship. But it didn't have a real future. Unless...

"You love her."

"Hmm."

"Damn! You had to fall in love with her!" It was ridiculous and just insane. But the look in Edward's eyes was enough to convince Jasper it was true.

"I don't know. But I've got to admit I've never felt like this before even if it's so soon."

Jasper decided that if Edward was crazy enough to try to rescue his lady, better try to help him. In the few months they've been hiding together, Jasper came to find Edward and Emmett were good friends, not mere companions.

"Ok, let's see that map. I think if he's hiding it must be close to one fo the safe spots..."

"Guys!" Emmett whispered yelled, running inside the room. "You won't believe what I found out." When he noticed Jasper pointing something at the map he stopped. "You're not thinking to go to rescue her, right? Because it's crazy man."

"He loves her." Was the only thing Jasper said, and with one look at Edward, Emmett knew it would be fruitless to try to change his mind. But then he remembered what brought him here.

"Guys, we are in trouble. I heard Felix talking to his friend at the army. They cut our cellphone's signals and the wi-fi because they want to keep this incident secret until they deal with it."

"What?" Now the guys got really worried.

"Something about containing the information to avoid massive hysteria. They think people could get curious and come out trying to help. Felix mentioned it was going to be difficult to evacuate as it is now, better not try to worsen our situation by bringing more people to the mix. The only communication will be by radio. Well, and they left the landlines, in case someone got stuck inside their house. Oh, and of course the labs still are connected though it's out of necessity."

Emmett wasn't finished with his last phrase when it happened. Then the phone in the lobby rang. For a place full of people and movement, the sound shocked everyone. They thought everybody was at the hospital!

The phone rang three times more before someone recover from the shock and went to answer.

"Hello?" Angela tapped her fingers over the counter, she remembered Embry was hiding with Mrs. Rachel. Maybe he was reporting, though he used his radio previously.

"Angela!" It was Bella! "I need help. Jacob went crazy and he hurt Charlie. He needs a doctor but I don't think I can move him."

Angela had already the phone on speaker mode, so everybody at the lobby was hearing.

"It's ok hun. Just tell me, where are you?"

"At the police station. Jacob took me to an apartment above."

Mark growled a string of profanities. They just came back from there!

"Ok, sweetie. Now tell me, what kind of injury does Charlie have?"

"Jacob stabbed him. Charlie tried to shoot him, got him on his right arm. I knocked him out, but I think he will wake up soon."

Angela stopped Bella's babbling. "Sweetie, just try to contain the hemorrhage. Help will go your way." With a nod from Mark, Angela continued aiding Bella to contain Charlie's bleeding.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the guys, Alice and Alec heard the whole conversation because they were hiding having a similar one in the next empty room.

"Which side do you think they are?" Alec wondered.

"I really hope on the good side. The Newtons seem like a no-nonsense people who would never allow something illegal going under their roof. Besides, I kinda heard they were retired from the FBI. Maybe they are in witness protection?" Alice paced the tiny room where they hid. "Anyway, they aren't a part of our plan... Alec, what are we gonna do now?"

"I don't know. I mean, you heard the big guy. They want to keep the caterpillars quiet."

"And here I was thinking on a Pulitzer for our article about them," Alice said with a snort. "I still have my notes with all those other deals. We still can write about Aro, right?"

"Yeah, but still, I will get my fucking picture. Even if it is for my personal archive. This is a once in a lifetime experience and I'll be damned if I don't get something to remind me."

Their discussion came to a halt because Mark went barging into the room, searching for Edward.

"Edwaaard! We found her!" He noticed her was in the wrong room, but his ruckus didn't go unnoticed.

"Wait!" Edward came running. "Where? When are we leaving?"

Mark was fast to explain to a very focused Edward and an eager to help Emmett while guiding them upstair to the lobby.

"Hey! I'm good climbing. I can help." Alec offered, still focused on getting a good picture. He followed them, closing the door behind him missing the fact that two people stayed inside.

Alice just stood frozen in her place. Jasper, instead of going with the guys, cornered her at the back of the room.

"Tsk, tsk. So you're not that ditzy airhead as you were pretending before, eh?" he crossed his arms over his chest.

Alice recovered fast from the shock, besides, who was this guy to try to scare her? "And you aren't a construction worker as you presumed before." She said, standing as tall as her 4'9'' let her. Giving Jasper her best bitch brow.

Jasper chuckled. Something about this tiny strip of a woman always kept him wondering."Well, let's start again. Hello, my name is Jasper Whitlock." He said extending his hand to her.

"Well, let's start again. Hello, my name is Jasper Whitlock." He said extending his hand to her.

"Hi, I'm Mary Alice Brandon." She shook it. "JW? Really? That wasn't creative at all."

"Well, at least my name was hidden, Mary."

"Meh, nobody calls me Mary. I'm known as Alice Brandon, head reporter from the Miami Herald."

"And what were you doing with Esme Volturi, if I may ask?"

"Oh, that's a secret mission. And you with the Newtons?"

"He, he. Secret too. What do you say if I call it a truce while we deal with these pesky bugs, hmm?"

Alice extended her hand. "You have a deal. But as soon as this is over I'm going to grill you for a story since it seems the caterpillars are out of the question."

xxx

The team set to the rescue consisted on Edward, Mark, and Alec. They were armed with flamethrowers, a rifle, and guns because more would make the way back more difficult. Their mindset was on bringing back Charlie and Bella, the fate of Jacob uncertain because none wanted to risk bringing him back.

They were lucky the caterpillars seemed to be occupied on another side of town, though that should have them worried.

xxx

"You're right Angela, it lessened the bleeding." Bella hiccuped on the phone.

Charlie was barely conscious, the pain unbearable got him hallucinating.

"Renee... My love... You're taking me with you, right?"

His musings were making Bella cry, but she was more desperate on trying to keep him alive than to give into her panic.

Suddenly, a shot rang again, this time the bullet ricocheted on the window above Bella.

"Shit! My aim is shit with my left hand." Jacob landed on the floor coming from the back window.

"Ja-a-co-ob." Bella whispered, giving in to panic.

"You should have killed me, Bella." He then crawled closer to where she was holding Charlie's lap. He only managed to get one arm out, the one with the gun, but the rest of his limbs were about to get free. "Jesus, I may shoot him just to close his mouth. Renee this, Renee that. Do you know the reason why he hates you?"

Bella shook her head, though if it was because of the panic of because she didn't know was uncertain. Charlie kept muttering, unaware of Jacob's tirade.

"You look exactly like her. You're a picture perfect of your mother." Jacob kept twisting his legs, the ducktape almost falling from them. His right arm, though, was still tied.

Bella frowned, that wasn't a reason to hate her.

"The asshole panicked when they declared Renee terminally ill. At the time the doctor at the hospital deemed unnecessary to drug Renee for the pain because he was worried she would become an addict. 'She's always asleep anyway' he said. Bastard, she was dying! Anyway, Charlie would do anything for Renee so he sold his soul to the devil himself so he provided some kind of medicine that took care of Renee's pain."

Bella gasped. "What?"

"Your little daddy in his desperation came to Aro, who was starting with his illegal side of the lab. I don't know what he gave to Charlie, but it eased your mother's pain and made her departure swift and easy. But then, Charlie got overwhelmed with guilt. And you were an exact replica of your mother. Do the math."

"That's why he wanted me out?"

Jacob nodded. "Yep. You reminded him of what he did and it wasn't like he could go and share his pain with you or anyone. He wasn't such a wonderful father from the beginning either. Aro was the only one who knew at the time, and he made sure to remind Charlie what could happen if he let it out that he poisoned his own wife. So Charlie became Aro's lap dog."

"How did you find out?"

"I always listen, even when they think I don't. That's how I found about Aro's little island. Or where he stashed his emergency cash. I brought his fake passport too but there's no way I could pass as his ugly ass. We'll have to find out another way to cross the border, once in Mexico I'm sure we can buy fake IDs. One guy said there's this hood named Santo Domingo..."

Bella was sobbing. Not only for what she now knew about her father but because the jackass still was planning on taking her.

"You know, help is coming. I called them."

That made Jacob stand still.

"You what? How? My phone can't get a shit of signal. You're lying."

"Nu-uh. I asked Angela to help me to stop the bleeding." Bella pushed Charlie's hands over his wound, finally aware that the call was still going, so at least Angela knew Jacob was awake, and that she was sitting with a gun. If only she could distract him...

"Oh no! Don't get creative," Jacob argued when he noticed she was shifting over something under her lap. "One more move and I'll shoot you. I'm beginning to think you're not worth the hassle. Maybe those bugs that you're so fond of can come to make you company." And he burst out laughing. Clearly, he lost mind.

Bella had the gun just at her fingers reach, but she had to distract Jacob because his legs were now free. It wouldn't take him long to come to retrieve her gun.

"Wait! And how did you intend to leave the town, with all those caterpillars wandering around? I mean, not even cars are safe. What was your plan?"

"You know, my plan was genius. Convoluted but precise. Detailed but practical. Real thing of greatness. In other circumstances, I would be called a hero." Jacob nodded, while Bella made a gigantic effort to not roll her eyes. She was sure Jacob didn't have an idea, but as he was boasting how intelligent he was, she saw her window of opportunity. Carefully she lifted the gun, remove the safety and pointed to Jacob's shoulder.

Everything happened so fast.

Bella's shot was one second late. Jacob shot at her too, just to loose his gun when the bullet hit him. Jacob's shot would've got Bella if it wasn't for a body that jumped in front of her.

"Charlie!" She cried.

This time there was no way to save him. He was bleeding from his mouth, between other parts.

"Shh,shh." He babbled with difficulty. "Forgive me, Bella. "

"No, no. Dad..."

"For..." he began to convulse.

"Yes, I forgive you."

Then, another body jumped on Jacob, who was about to get to Bella.

"Asshole!" It was Edward and he was about to kick Jacob's ass.

Mark ran to Charlie's side, witnessing the tearful goodbye.

Charlie died with a smile because with his last breath he told Bella he loved and he was proud of her. And he also saw Mark coming to aid her. now, he could rest in peace.

* * *

And... Charlie is gone. Do you think he redeems himself?

Sorry for being lost. RL had been difficult for a while.

I have the next chapter almost finished, I'll try to post it through next week. I think there are around five more chapters before this story ends, so I'm trying to get them finished before New Year.

Let me know what you think.


	24. Chapter 23

As the sun was setting, the majority of the caterpillars were already fed and satisfied. With their tummies full, their mutated instinct kicked in, making them feel the need to find a quiet place. A place where they could rest, safely tucked in, inside a new cocoon. It was the time to start the change.

The cave where they were hiding was out of the question, this morning's explosion scared them. So the more adventurous roamed around the empty town until soon, one found a perfect place to settle.

xxx

"We got him, Doc. But we couldn't save the Chief." Mark almost cried over the phone. He was commanded to report to Angela as soon as they got Charlie, but sadly, there was nothing that Angela could do for him.

"Damn! And what about that asshole? Is he hurt? Tell me you punched and kicked his tiny balls until they came out from his mouth."

Mark turned to his left, where Jacob was laying like a lump on the floor. Edward made sure to kick his ass before tying him up. "Well, the newbie taught him a good lesson on manners, still, we didn't get in time to save the Chief. We're coming back in five. Just so you wait for us."

"Are you bringing him back?" Angela thought the town would like to pay their respects to Charlie. Despite his poor acts as a father, he was cherished around town and considered a good Chief.

"Yeah, Bella wants to have a funeral after all of this is done. If it gets done. Could you believe we didn't find any caterpillar on our way here? I mean, where are they?"

xxx

Aro was a really intelligent man, and one of many resources. When he arrived at his house only to find out someone emptied his safe he started to work on plan B. When Plan B became sort of postponed as communications were cut he decided to start with Plan C. He was bright enough to deduce that the military cut off the internet and the cell phones but soon he found out his land-line was still working. Well, there must be someone he could talk...

The Sun was setting by the time he finished with his new arrangements. It was a tricky plan, but once he gets through the first part, which involved moving around town, the rest will be a piece of cake.

He still had buyers for the few articles he had in stock, so he contacted one client who got too happy to find out he was about to retire and greedily agreed to buy all of Aro's remaining stuff besides the remaining raw material. Of course, Aro didn't mention the creatures at all. If the man didn't know a bit of them it meant the military was keeping the crisis under covers. Aro just stated he wanted to retire after a health scare. Very plausible story. That way the man didn't ask why the urgency or why Aro was settling for a much lower price.

All Aro had to do was wait 'til darkness falls and crawl up to his last storehouse. He kept a sedan parked over there, which he would use to deliver the goods and escape. But first, he had to get a hold of his last hidden stash of cash inside the apartment above the police station. Unfortunately, there was no way to guarantee nobody was there. How could he find out the whereabouts of the people around this town? He tried calling to the police station but nobody answered. All he heard was that awful recording, meaning no one was around to answer. Charlie Swan, that good for nothing old whining fart was supposed to keep him updated. Alas, no one answered when he called. And Aro was doubtful to call the hospital, who knows who would answer?

So Aro decided to lurk around his neighbors land. If he recalled it right, Riley, the boy, was running around one summer on a four-wheeler. They probably kept it at the very back of their garage. Armed with a scythe, the only weapon in his home he found useful, Aro went to explore the neighbors land in search for another mean of transport. The first step of his plan.

xxx

Bella was numb, walking without really seeing. She always considered herself level-headed, calmed in difficult or stressful times. But between her kidnapping, the threat of Jacob's outrageous intentions, his revelations, and Charlie's last words... Bella felt so overwhelmed that somehow her brain shut off, keeping her just following the motions.

Edward was holding her, guiding her through the wrecked streets with one hand, while pulling the trolley with Charlie's body with the other. Mark was the last of the group, keeping an eye on Jacob, who was helping Edward to push the trolley.

"And what are you going to do with me once we get to the hospital?" Jacob asked, kicking a rock to one of the crashed cars.

"I'll turn you to higher authorities. We have a couple of FBI agents, or maybe that Lieutenant Jones will take care of you. Honestly, I don't know who's in control right now." Mark answered but Jacob interrupted him with a huff.

"Control? Nobody has control! Those fuckers are still wandering around, I would want to see one of those agents to fight one, with their black suits and sunglasses."

"I think you've mistaken them for the men in black. Demetri, Felix, and Marcus are wearing normal clothes and I didn't see any of them wearing glasses." Mark shook his head. This kid watched too many movies. "Besides, we didn't find any bug following us on our way to the station, or even now. I think that is weird."

The trolley's wheels got stuck with debris and turned to the side, making Charlie's body fall.

"Ugh! Just what we needed!" Jacob huffed, lifting his hands as if Mark would untie him to help.

"Nuh-uh. Edward will help me. You just remain still and quiet."

Edward stopped and pulled Bella to the side.

"Wait here." He turned but she took one step forward. "Wait. Bella, look at me." She lifted her sight, but it was as she wasn't seeing him. "Don't move, I'll be back in a second."

Bella nodded and Edward turned around to help Mark. First with the trolley, then with the body.

"Jesus! He was a big man." Mark huffed, balancing Charlie's legs from side to side while Edward did the same with the arms.

"At the count of three, one... two... three!"

They got Charlie's body into the trolley at the third attempt, the man was really heavy and the trolley got knocked over two times.

Mark cleaned his forehead and Edward was fast to turn back when he noticed Bella wasn't there.

"Bella? Bella, baby, where are you?" She wasn't standing where he left her, as a matter of fact, she wasn't around.

"He, he, hee. See? She ran away from you too." Jacob taunted Edward, in hopes to get a chance to escape. Too bad for him that Edward didn't pay attention because he found where Bella went.

She was about to turn around the corner when a caterpillar came crawling from the other side. Bella, still numb, walked the right road to the hospital; but she was completely unaware of the danger about to fall upon her.

"Bella! Stop!" Edward yelled, running like a madman to push her away from the bug. In his haste, he turned down a tin receptacle full of water. The thing rolled to the caterpillar, spilling water all the way. That gave Edward an idea.

"Bella! Please, listen!"

Bella finally stopped and turned to see Edward.

"At the count of three, I want you to jump to the sidewalk. Do you understand?"

Bella shook her head up and down, finally coming down from whatever was distracting her. "What?"

"When I say three, jump to the side. Out of the water!" Edward yelled, pointing to the puddle that went all the way to where the caterpillar was lazily crawling in her direction. The thing probably wasn't about to attack her, it was moving too slowly, but it didn't lessen the danger of acid spit or a flying spine.

"Shit!" Bella whimpered and nodded frantically. She didn't want to alert the bug so it would move faster to her.

"One," Edward said, pulling something from his backpack.

"Two." He got a taser gun, and Bella finally understood what was his plan.

"Three!"

Bella jumped with all her might, colliding with the wall of an empty drugstore, Edward shot to the water at the maximum power which made the caterpillar squeal and made an awkward dance, only to roll to the side.

Carefully trying to not step on the water, Bella walked on the edge of the sidewalk, making her way back to Edward's waiting arms. Mark, who walked to Edward before the shot, manage to pull out a bottle bomb and was fast to throw it to the wailing beast.

Boom!

Jacob was the first one to recover, shaking dust and debris from his body the best he could with his tied hands.

"Did we kill it?"

With the explosion, Mark fell behind the trolley and covered behind Charlie's body. Slowly, he stood up and peeked around. "I think... I think it's dead. give it five more seconds, just in case."

Bella fell under Edward, both well except for a few scratches and dust. "It doesn't move... I think we did it. It's dead."

"Well, let the entomologist go there and check. She's the only one qualified." Jacob muttered, gaining a rock on the head that Bella threw to him. "Hey! I'm just saying."

Bella stood up and took a few steps closer to the remains of the caterpillar. "Incredible." She walked closer, picking up a stick of the ground. "The insides are burnt... Stop Edward, don't come closer." He was just right behind her. "Well, it's really dead, but the cocoon..." Bella got the end of her stick over the cocoon, which broke in pieces. "Guys, I think we may have found the way to kill the caterpillars."


	25. Chapter 24

**Last time in TNOTPC: Our heroes were going back to the hospital, after rescuing Bella from Jacob's hands, not before loosing Chief Swan. On the way back, a caterpillar almost got Bella but with the intervention on water and electricity, along with a bomb, they manage to kill the bug.**

 _Bella stood up and took a few steps closer to the remains of the caterpillar. "Incredible." She walked closer, picking up a stick of the ground. "The insides are burnt... Stop Edward, don't come closer." He was just right behind her. "Well, it's really dead, but the cocoon..." Bella got the end of her stick over the cocoon, which broke in pieces. "Guys, I think we may have found the way to kill the caterpillars."_

xxx

A few minutes earlier...

When Edward and Mark left to rescue Bella, Alec, who was supposed to accompany them, was assigned with another mission. Given his ability to climb trees, his outstanding sight augmented by the power of his camera lens... he was commanded to climb over the sycamore between the station and the hospital and report the condition of the rest of the town. His cover along with Alice's was blown, and everybody was now aware of their real names and professions.

So armed with a radio, he was explaining to Felix, the strange movements of the caterpillars.

"Yeah, it's like someone is calling out for them. They are crawling their way to the edge of town."

"All of them?" Felix wanted some assurance before taking a decision.

"Like 95%. I can only see two left behind, but they seemed confused. Maybe those are sick?"

Boom!

"What's happening Alec? Where did this explosion come?"

Alec turned around and almost jumped out of the three.

"Damn! It seems like the guys down there blew out one caterpillar!"

"And how are they?"

"Bella, Edward, Mark, and Jacob, they are fine. Oh, the chief or he's gravely injured or..."

"No. I just found out he didn't make it. That rogue deputy killed him. And now I wonder who will take responsibility of the man. We can precisely get him in jail."

"But he can be our guinea pig. Hey, Felix. The last caterpillar finally got the hint and it's crawling to the others."

"So the city is clear of bugs?"

"Hmm... yeah. They're going right to where I was staying. Let me climb a bit higher to see where they are stopping. Give me a minute."

Alec struggled for a moment, but he raised to the top of the tree.

"Holy cow! Felix, all the bugs are reuniting in the same place. It's the field in front of the Volturi's home."

"Are you sure?"

"Damn sure. The last one that I mentioned, it's almost running into that direction. Felix, all the bugs are congregated in one place. I think this may be our chance."

xxx

If Alec wasn't so excited to get down of the tree to join the rest of his friends, and he had stayed watching a bit more, he would have noticed the panicked man riding the four-wheeler like a bat out of hell.

Aro went to the King's garage and found the vehicle he was looking for and he was lucky enough to find a can of fuel. The problem was that it took him more than he expected and suddenly he found himself surrounded by those gigantic creatures.

He created a diversion, throwing the noisiest chainsaw he found that scared the caterpillars, allowing to drive up to the road to his house.

Once Aro got to the road, he was so scared that he decided to drive through the edge of town, trying to find a way to his old apartment.

xxx

"No! Bob is out of limits!"

"But Carlisle, you have to understand. The only chance we have is to experiment on Bob's hairy cocoon."

When Bella and Edward arrived, she asked for a visit to her furry friend, only to find Marcus arguing with Carlisle.

"Oh, no, no." Bella ran to the lab. "Stop it! What do you think you'll achieve hurting Bob?" she slammed open the door of the lab.

Carlisle was standing in front of the cage, while Marcus was trying to maneuver around him.

"We found a way to stop them. So you better leave Bob to rest right now." She demanded.

Marcus raised his hands to pacify her, but Bella was almost growling. Edward came to stop behind her, his hands on her shoulders to stop her from whatever she was trying to do to Marcus.

"Bella, sweetie, we have to get everybody together. We have to plan how to proceed."

Bella nodded but never tear up her eyes from Marcus or Carlisle.

xxx

"So according to Alec, all the caterpillars are resting in your fields," Felix recounted, looking at Riley. "Bella was thinking that giving the feast they had with the people in town, they now will want to rest through digestion. She thinks that given their last home was blown, they chose what they believe is a safer place."

He got the attention of all the uninjured who were reunited at the lobby of the hospital.

"We know the cocoon is impenetrable, but we found a way to turn them upside down so then we can have our chance to attack." His words elicited a round of applause and cheers.

"And it could work best if they are all together." Angela pointed out. "So I guess you're planning to strike now."

Felix nodded. "Bella and Carlisle's opinion is that the caterpillars will need a few hours of sleep not only for rest but to completely digest everything they ate."

"We think at least four or five hours," Carlisle added.

"So, with twilight coming, we want to make the most of the minutes of light we have left. Bella thinks if we attack in the dark we have a better chance to surprise them."

One of the women at the back lifted her hand.

"Yeah, do you have a question?"

The woman nodded. She seemed pretty scared. "How do you plan to attack? We can't get close to them, it may be a suicide mission."

Her question caused murmurs and laments.

"Well, when the guys went to rescue Bella and the Chief, they fought one caterpillar on their way back. And they found a weakness: The bugs can't stand electricity."

Mark stood up. "We managed to electrocute one of them. It was crawling to attack Bella, but accidentally Edward dropped a can of water under the bug's legs. He shot a taser gun and it made the bug to roll on its back. You know that while the cocoon protects them from everything, the parts that aren't covered are fragile. I took the chance and threw a bomb and blew the thing apart. We checked, and whether it was the electricity or the bomb, the cocoon was stiff and it broke easily."

The volume of the murmuring raised. This little fact opened the possibility of killing the caterpillars, but how? And who would dare to get close enough?

Demetri walked to Felix, signing to him that he had Lieutenant Jones on Skype, ready to listen to their planning and maybe to offer his help.

"Well, while the guys came back and with the information we gathered, I think we came up with a plan." He called to Marcus and Demetri, who came back bringing a makeshift map of the area.

"So this is the field and these black squares are Emily's home and Esme Volturi's home. The bugs are resting scattered around this area." He pointed to a green area. "With a bit of work, I think we can flood the field, then fry those bugs before we blow them away before the sun rises!"

xxx

Aro drove carefully, shocked to find the roads lifeless. Where did they go? The humans and the bugs.

He didn't have a problem to get to the back of the police station and climbed easily to the old apartment.

"What the hell happened here?" He wondered as soon as he opened the back door.

It seemed like someone tried to seek refuge inside as the covered windows showed, but something managed to get inside. There was blood everywhere and the furniture was turned.

Something told him that maybe the survivors were scavenging inside the houses. He did it with his actual vehicle after all. Aro had a hunch, something told him that it wasn't food what they were looking for.

He ran like a madman to his office and opened his safe. It was empty too!

Something snapped in Aro's mind in that moment. The realization that he lost everything and wasn't sure of how or who was to blame, it took away the last bit of rational thought of him. And only one idea remained... revenge.

xxx

* * *

 **A short one this time, but prepare because this ride is going to get wild ;)**


	26. Chapter 25

There was one thing you could say about the people from Micanopy, once with a plan, they were diligent and focused.

It was decided that everybody was about to help, except the injured, the young kids and the one pregnant lady, who would stay at the hospital under the care of Marcus who sprained his ankle while carrying a roll of cable. He is going to be in charge of the radio to give assistance and directions. He was also the link to lieutenant Jones, in case his help was needed, though Marcus had an inkling that the army was very close waiting for their chance to act.

xxx

"Eeeechooooo!" Emmett bellowed, "echo, echo, echo." He added in a lower voice.

"Shut up!" Rosalie elbowed him, but she was laughing at his antics.

"Come on! You gotta admit this place is super creepy." Emmett added in a whisper, gaining nods of Seth and John, the two auxiliary firemen who were part of their team.

To accomplish the plan of flooding the field, it was decided that the old tank truck and the fire truck would become helpful. Hence, Seth and John, the only unscathed men who knew how to operate them were set to bring the vehicles. Emmett offered his help, being a tall strong man, and having experience driving trucks when he was younger. Seth mentioned that both vehicles were stored in the mechanic workshop that stood to the side of the fire station. Micanopy was a very small town after all.

Finally, Rosalie mentioned that Aro owned a portable electricity generator of a medium size that may be useful. She remembered it was stored at the same workshop because Aro had it checked by John Sr., the workshop owner.

So the four of them parted to acquire the vehicles and bring them to the field.

All the way to the mechanic workshop that John's family owned, the guys were astounded by the silence. There were only wrecked remains on the streets but no trace of life. Not even birds! So Emmett's joke was more than accurate.

"Maybe it is creepy. But you have to understand, we suppose all the people who survived is hiding at the hospital. So, who's going to come and surprise us here?" Seth said while walking inside the building.

The workshop didn't suffer any damage, its walls, gates, and windows apparently were enough to keep the caterpillars outside. Something pretty remarkable as sturdier buildings seemed to suffer complete and utter damage. Still, the quietness contributed to that eerie atmosphere.

John walked to the firetruck first, climbing to the driver's side to check it. "We're lucky, the tank is full. But maybe we could bring back with us a couple of cans with fuel. Emmett, the diesel is on the back, if you don't mind. I still have to check the tank truck."

Emmett nodded and ran to the back, followed closely by Rosalie.

"I remember seeing a pile of cans, let's find them first." She guided him through the workshop. "You know, John Sr. was one of the few nice men with us around here. When I was young he taught me how to change a tire and a few tricks to fix my old car."

"Really?"

"Yeah. At the time the Chief was always busy working so Bella and I used to walk everywhere. Then by a stroke of luck, my mother got a car but she was scared to drive it because the old thing had so many quirks." She smiled wistfully. "It was almost cartoonish how if you turned to the left the window from the back came down, and sometimes turning on the radio turned on the wipers too. But it was our first car. So John offered to show us how to fix it if we worked helping him over the summer. Now, Bella was good with numbers, so she was around the office, but me? I was good with tools so I shadowed him. He was a very patient teacher."

"What happened then?" Emmett was curious, this Rosalie was really an enigma. At the beginning, you would think she was a bitch, well, she was. But then she saved that kid and his dog. And now hearing from her youth... there was so much about her he wanted to know.

"Oh, well. Bella and I left to college. Then when I came back, I found out his wife got sick and now John Sr. was retired, and his other son Thomas was in charge of the workshop. Life surely takes you in such weird paths..."

Rose reminiscences were interrupted suddenly.

A body fell out of nowhere.

"Oh, God! Mrs. Humbolt!" Rosalie yelled.

Emmett quickly got to the floor but the woman clearly had been dead for a while. Her eyes were still open is sheer terror, and her right hand stuck in the space between the buttons on the left side of her blouse.

"She probably had a heart attack. She saw those giant bugs and came to hide..." Emmett looked to the ceiling. It seemed like the woman fell from the makeshift shelf that stored blankets and rags. "Hey, guys! Seth! John! over here!"

Rosalie picked up one of the fallen blankets and used it to cover the body. "She's John's mother."

"Oh."

xxx

Up in the highway, half of the volunteers were having a talk before splitting, some with Emily to her house and others with Esme. They had to bring the electricity current the nearest they could to the field.

"So here it is. Esme, Emily, are you sure you know how to operate the radios?" Felix asked though he spent the whole way explaining how to use the radios to the women.

"Sure, and remember that Alice, James and the others are coming with me. They all got it too." Esme felt confident. She was lucky Aro kept much of his equipment at home. James was awfully nervous explaining the kind of gadgets and materials hiding inside their garage, not to mention their basement.

Emily just nodded. She would be guiding the other young two men rolling the wires to the entrance of her field. Were Alec and Jasper their names? She may have to ask them again.

"Remember, you have to cut the lights out first, otherwise we all will get fried before time is up." Felix was nervous. It was one thing that the plan worked with one measly caterpillar; but now to bring it to this gigantic proportions, despite the intense planning, made him doubt.

Finding out the three young men were engineers helped a bit. That's why he teamed up one of them with each group, adding James who more or less knew his way around the heavy equipment they planned to use.

"Ok, now my team..." He turned his sight to a very eager Riley, and the two lovebirds holding hands much to their cuffed prisoner's chagrin. Those two better keep their eyes on the prize and not on each other. Demetri pushed Jacob to the side, just to remind him where he was standing. After all, they only brought him because he was strong and because it seemed that only Demetri and Felix could control him.

Emily worried for Riley and gave him a desperate glance. She gladly would change any of her companions for Riley, to keep an eye on him.

"Oh Ma! I'm going to be fine. We're just going to the shed. I'm sure if anything happens, one loud whistle and you'll be there." Riley tried to calm his mother.

"Ma'am," Felix added, "I can promise you I'll protect him. He won't be getting closer to the field."

Jacob was grumbling in disagreement. He thought it was unfair to keep the young so protected while he was about to carry rolls of wire around with his hands cuffed and under the supervision of the grumpy agent.

"Well, then I guess it's time. Keep your radios handy at all times. Oh, and please confirm to us when you cut up the electricity from your house."

Esme and Emily rolled their eyes. There were worst things that could go wrong for Felix to keep worrying about that little detail.

xxx

At the dinner, four women were busy collecting the armament from the Newton's hiding place.

"I never thought I would have one of these in my hands." Sue admired the heavy rocket launcher. "Damn! It's really heavy."

"Yeah, I never thought this day will come. The day we have to use it." Tanya shook her head. "Michael got it from a friend, but he believed it was more of a collecting item. I think we only have three or four rockets for it."

Victoria and Bree, the young girls who seemed eager to help but afraid from the weapons, were packaging ammo in a duffel bag.

"How are we going to carry this to the meeting point?"

Tanya walked back to the kitchen and brought a hand truck they kept in the cellar.

"This will have to do. There's a wheelbarrow but I don't think we will need it."

Bree went to help her and asked. "Better to be safe than sorry. Let's bring it here too."

xxx

"The irrigation system is on the other side. But first, let me bring the manual and the wrench." Riley didn't have an idea of where to start. He knew how to operate the irrigation system, but to force it to not stop the water coming was out of his knowledge.

"I'll go." Edward offered. "I have some kind of experience with this kind of valves. Is this the John Deer system?"

Riley nodded and was shocked. How did this man know to handle farm equipment? Wasn't he in construction? Oh, but then he was talking to the agents. If he wasn't so distracted by leering at the pretty college girls, he probably would have heard what the man said.

"Yes, it's one of those systems."

"Are you sure this has a different break of the house?" Felix didn't know why his apprehension was about the electricity systems.

"Yep. The switch for the field is that one." Riley pointed to where Bella was standing on the right corner. "Turn it on, please. We had to shut down everything after my Dad..."

Bella was fast to press the switch, not wanting Riley to remember that sad day.

"Ok, what we have to do next?"

"We wait for the others to let us know it's ok to start the irrigation of the field," Felix told her.

xxx

Not five minutes later, they got confirmation from Esme and Emily that the energy was cut from both houses. It was time to start.

"Ok, this lever will free the water but I want to check that every sparkler is working. See that screen? Let me know when all the lights are on." Edward instructed and then he went to the back of the machine. He had to find a way to override the anti-flood system!

Meanwhile, Jasper had no problem connecting his cable to the power. Now Alec and Emily were rolling the opposite end outside.

At Esme's abode, James easily set everything ready and now he and other two guys were rolling their wire outside, leaving Esme and Alice to wander inside the house gathering certain documents. Esme wasn't sure if she will have the chance to come back home soon.

The plan was going smoothly...

xxx

"Ok, so how are we going to get the current to the field?" Carlisle was busy tying two pipes with tape. He planned to poke any caterpillar who wanted to leave the field. he was part of the ones surrounding the field, who were instructed to attack once the caterpillars were upside down.

"Those guys over are finishing with the final touch, don't worry." Matt who wasn't savvy on home repairs, only gathered that they were making something to connect to the wires in case they weren't enough.

"It's working!" one man yelled.

Certainly, streams of water were coming just not with the force Carlisle was expecting. Alas, from his post he saw the caterpillars weren't bothered by the water pouring at their legs.

xxx

"It's working!" Riley exclaimed, jumping in excitement.

Meanwhile, Edward was busy stopping a valve from closing now that the sensors stated it was more than enough water to pour.

"Keep pushing that lever, Bella!"

"I'm trying!" Poor Bella was almost seated over the lever to keep it from moving.

Felix was looking outside with his binoculars, wary but happy as the plan was coming to fruition without a hitch. Until something knocked him out...


	27. Chapter 26

**Fasten your seatbelts.**

* * *

"Could this truck go slower?" Rosalie complained.

They were almost at the meeting point, waiting for Mark's sign to round the field.

"Well, it wasn't designed for NASCAR," Emmett argued.

What had Rosalie in a tizzy was that they still had to make the generator work and connect it to the assembled grid that the others, led by Carlisle and Mark, built. Meanwhile, Seth and a brokenhearted John would round the field to help to flood it where it was needed.

Emmett stopped the truck and got down to greet Carlisle, who seemed worried.

"Guys! We have a problem!"

That made Rosalie jump out of the truck.

"Riley called to let us know that they got the irrigation system set up, but after that, we can't get in touch with them." Carlisle almost shouted. Bella was on that team, and he sure as hell cared for her. She was like a daughter to him!

"And Emily? They are the closest to them." Rosalie was thinking of ways to get in touch with that team. Despite their differences, Rosalie still cared for Bella.

"They had a problem with their line, it doesn't reach the field. We don't want to distract them."

Emmett sighed. They were at the opposite side.

"Let finish this, maybe Seth and John could go and see what's going on over there."

xxx

Jacob pondered his options all the way to Riley's house, and finally reached a decision when they reached the shed. In case they all survived and killed those bugs, it didn't mean he would be back to his normal life. Jail awaited him. Directing his glance to the two agents following his every move, he found difficult to try an escape. Argh! Add that fate was cruel and he also had to witness Bella making googly eyes to the clown over there. Bella, who was supposed to be his since she was born!

To a rational mind, those were excessive burdens to wallow over. But this wasn't a rational man. Jacob proved time after time that he was desperate, and like a cornered animal, he was just waiting for the right time to pounce.

His opportunity arose, when Riley, Edward, and Bella left the shed for a minute to check the water was coming unblocked. Demetri took his own radio and called someone just out of the shed. It was now or never.

Slowly, he crept until he got his hands on an abandoned rusty shovel. He picked it and knocked the other agent, Felix.

It was time! He got up and ran, pushing Demetri to the ground on his way out.

"See you, fuckers!" Jacob yelled, laughing at them.

And that was a mistake. Because he didn't see when Bella, who was standing behind a row of corn, extended her leg while taking a step forward making him fall.

"Help!" she was fast to yell. But Jacob was so desperate he rolled to her and pushed her.

Riley and Edward were up in the roof of the shed and didn't think it twice to jump to aid Bella. Edward was faster and closer to Jacob who managed to stand up, so with all his might he jumped over Jacob and punched him straight in the jaw. Jacob, despite the pain, was fueled by hatred. With his hands cuffed, he jumped to Edward's back and tried to strangle him.

"She's mine, bastard!" Jacob yelled.

Edward felt the loss of air for a second, but recovered his senses and bent enough to make Jacob fall to the ground. He kicked Jacob's whiny ass.

"She chose me. Get over it!" He huffed.

Jacob's rage made him not feel the pain and he jumped again to knock Edward to the floor.

Edward managed to evade him and round kicked Jacob's legs, definitively hurting him this time when Jacob fell over a rake.

While they were fighting, Riley went inside the shed to aid Felix.

"Man, does it hurt?" Riley asked concerned, noticing Felix was bleeding from a wound on his head.

"Meh, I had worst, kid" Felix muttered showing him the small cut on his forehead, making Riley smile. "Have you seen my gun?"

That quieted them fast. Demetri heard Felix and started to look around for the gun. It was just plain bad luck to lose one weapon, but with Jacob prancing enraged, it could be dangerous. Giving he could aim with his hands cuffed.

Outside, Edward was giving Jacob the beating he so rightfully deserved. It was obvious he had the upper hand. Still, who had the weapon?

xx

Inside Riley King's house, Jasper and Alec were looking around, desperate to find anything to wrap the addition they assembled so their cable could connect the house's electricity with the field.

"I found it!" Alec came back with a six-pack of duck tape.

They ran outside, noticing that the radio was beeping.

"Hey, guys! We're almost there." Jasper half answered, worried everything else was set and they were behind.

"Don't worry. We calculate at least other fifteen minutes before the field gets flooded. It will be completely dark around that time." It was Mark calling them. "Listen, Felix's team had a bit of trouble, could one of you go and check them."

xxx

At the meeting point, the rest of the survivors were working in tandem to get as many bombs as they could. They only had one chance to end those bugs and they weren't going to waste it.

Tanya was explaining how to fill the bottles with diesel or alcohol and top them with a rag. Others were preparing slingshots to reach the farthest bugs with the bombs and the few grenades on the inventory.

In ten minutes they were about to split around the field to start the attack...

xxx

The caterpillars at the center of the field woke up. Something inside them told them it was time. So disregarding the water splashing on their legs, their body started to produce silk.

xxx

Edward punched Jacob's nose again.

"You lost. You don't have anywhere to go and are vastly outnumbered. Nobody wants you. Just give up. You're putting everybody in danger, with zero chances to escape."

"Aargh!" Jacob wailed and jumped again into Edward, but both froze when the click of a gun stopped them.

"Jacob, stop!" Bella was holding the gun with steady hands.

"Be-be-lla..." Both men were astonished.

Bella, knowing time wasn't on their side, shot to the ground. A couple of inches close to Jacob's toes.

"Bitch!"

"Bella, baby. Why don't you put that gun down..." Edward tried to appease her. His concern was for her, as he didn't have a problem if Bella shot Jacob. But what if she woke those caterpillars?

"No! How many will die because he keeps causing trouble? First my father, then he attacked Felix..."

"Bella, but this isn't the way. You really don't want to shoot him." Edward gave two little steps to Bella, hoping to get her to drop the gun. For fuck's sake! He was enjoying kicking this asshole! Now he had to save him.

Jacob never trusted a woman with a gun. So he slowly crawled back. It was a good thing she was listening to the imbecile. Right. Imbeciles all of them!

What Jacob didn't notice was that Bella's shot attracted one curious caterpillar. The bug believing that thing crawling was the cause of the noise bit him, one last snack before the change.

"Noooo!" Jacob wail was cut by the venom on the caterpillar's mouth.

The caterpillar crawled back, dragging Jacob to where it was beginning to build its cocoon.

Bella was about to scream, but Edward quickly covered her mouth. Shaking his head to avoid bringing the caterpillar's attention to them. So slowly they walked back to the shed where they found Felix, Demetri, and Riley climbing to the roof.

"We saw it," Demetri said while giving a hand to Bella so she could climb too. "I guess at least one of us had the chance to get one blow into that jackass' face. Look, the caterpillars woke up."

Just like that, Jacob was forgotten.

Edward was the last to climb. He got Felix's binoculars and gasped at the view... the caterpillars were shaking, some puking to the ground. Meanwhile, the water still was flowing...

xxx

Emily was waiting for the signal, the radio crackling on her hands.

Esme was exactly in the same position.

Carlisle, Emmett, and Rosalie also were waiting.

The rest was in position...

Then, Felix made the call. "Turn it up!"

At the same time, Emily and Esme turned on the switch, and Carlisle did the honors with the generator.

The buzz of the current flowing to the water was the only sound for a second.

Then, it happened.

The caterpillars jumped and rolled, trying to avoid the strange tickle on their legs.

Felix called the next order. "Now, fire! First wave!"

All the people lounging around the field fired the first wave of bombs. The explosions hit lots of caterpillars. It was a good start.

A few managed to roll back and crawled around confused. The attack came from every side!

"Fire! Second wave!"

At Felix's order, the explosions continued killing more caterpillars. But it wasn't enough. More than half of them was still rolling and crawling around the field.

One was particularly close to the generator. It crawled like crazy directly to it. Carlisle and Emmett were fixing it. They didn't see the bug coming.

"Watch out!" Rosalie yelled from the other side of the generator, but among the noise of the explosions and the shriek of the bugs, the men didn't hear her. And the caterpillar was about to pounce.

She didn't think it twice. She ran to the field and jumped in front of the bug, diverting its attention.

The caterpillar stopped, but a spine flew straight to Rosalie's torso.

"Nooo!" Emmett cried, as he tried to run to her.

"Don't." Carlisle stopped him. "She's dead. Let Mark handle it."

Mark ran to where Rosalie's body lay, flamethrower in hand to burn the caterpillar who crawled back to the center of the field.

xxx

"Sir! We're running out of those Molotov cocktails and the bugs are scattering." Tanya cried over the radio to Felix. There were at least twenty caterpillars still alive!

"Prepare the grenades." He ordered. In his post, standing on the roof of the shed, he noticed the chaos. He had to give the order, but they were running out of ammo. Somehow they had to get the caterpillars at the center of the field again.

"Seth, to your right. There are a few caterpillars about to come out of the field. Use your flamethrower to get them to the center."

"Yes, sir."

"Alec, you have two coming your way. Scare them to they get back to the field."

"Okey dokey," Alec answered.

From behind, Felix heard Demetri's call to his nephew asking for help. But Felix wasn't going to wait for the army. They had to end NOW with those bugs. After another glance around the field, he decided it was time.

"At the count of three shoot those grenades." He ordered to anyone with a radio. "One, two, three... fire!"

The explosions made the shed tremble so bad, that Riley fell.

"I hope this finally kill them." He grumbled as he stood up, massaging his butt.

Then, amidst the chaos, something buzzed from the sky. It was barely visible as the only lights were the burning corpses of the caterpillars.

"What is it?" Bella wondered.

Felix, who had the only binoculars with night vision, jumped surprised before answering. "Drones! The army sent help!"

"Guys, move back. Run back from the field!" Demetri screamed over the radio.

One drone dropped to the flooded field, electrifying it again. The rest of the drones followed the few remaining caterpillars, dropping their own grenades and killing them.

When the last caterpillar blew up, the drones left the field.

Demetri ordered silence. Felix had to check if it was true.

It was. The caterpillars were dead. It was over.

xxx

The survivors gathered around the now fixed generator, cheering and laughing.

"I called the hospital. They know now." Tanya said to Sue, who got her leg hurt when she ran from a bomb that exploded too close from her post.

She wasn't the only one injured, but no one was badly hurt.

"Angela must be desperate to come and help." She smiled and patted Seth's hand. "I told you it doesn't hurt."

Tanya laughed at Sue's antics, thinking Michael was also relaxed now that it was all over.

Then, a shot got everybody's attention.

Aro was standing on the roof of a car, holding a machine gun.

"Esmeeee! Stand up and show your face, stupid bitch. I want my money back!"

xxx


	28. Chapter 27

_Then, a shot got everybody's attention._

 _Aro was standing on the roof of a car, holding a machine gun._

 _"Esmeeee! Stand up and show your face, stupid bitch. I want my money back!"_

xxx

Esme was standing at the back of the group. Before Aro's arrival, she was busy with Alice and Alec, packing the meager belongings they managed to rescue into the trunk of a van. It wasn't like her house was destroyed, but a couple of grenades landed close enough to shatter the windows. And a couple of walls. Perhaps not all her furniture ended in one piece. But they were alive, that must count for something.

When she heard Aro, she instinctively searched for a gun. If any lesson came from this catastrophe was that life was too short to let it pass, hidden because of a bully. Esme was determined to leave Aro, consequences be damned. Given that he was responsible for the chaos, she was sure he will end up rotting in jail; besides, most of their money would go to compensate the people in Micanopy. But at least she will gain her freedom.

She took a step towards his voice when Alice stopped her.

"Are you crazy? He has a machine gun!"

"I don't care. I'm not gonna stay here and let him torment this town anymore."

Esme pushed by Alice, then by the many survivors who were scared and confused.

"I'm here." she yelled, way before getting to the front.

Because it was still dark, Aro couldn't grasp where the voice was coming from. So he shot a round of bullets into the sky.

"Come here you wench! Or I'm gonna start shooting anyone who's in front of me."

Esme got to the front and stood right beneath him. She didn't say anything, just glared at him.

"Ah, finally here. Tell me, sweet wife of mine, what happened to the money I stashed in my safety box at our house?" His saccharine voice didn't hide the fury he was feeling.

"What money? What safety box?" Esme shook her head. "I know just as well as you do that I don't set a foot on your side of the house. I don't have any idea if you have furniture, least I will know anything about a box."

xxx

While they were argüing, many of the survivors were getting ready to pounce. Just who this guy think he was? They survived a much frightening threat to succumb to a crazy man with a machine gun. And it was glaringly obvious he didn't know how to use the damn thing.

Demetri, who had a better marksmanship and the night vision goggles, crawled to the back, trying to hide behind a car.

Felix, with the gun he secured from Bella, also tried to hide between the other survivors.

And they weren't the only ones planning to shoot Aro.

xxx

"Are you kidding me? Aro, you and I led separate lives for years! What was I supposed to know about an apartment?" Esme was angry. How many assets did he hide from her?

"Well, and if you didn't take it, then tell me who dared to do it? Because I'm sure every soul in this town fears me, as they should."

"You're an impossible egomaniac!" Esme huffed. "Probably one of your minions took your money and ran."

Aro took a look around, noticing Jacob and Rosalie's absence. The mere possibility that Esme was right and his money had vanished...

"Damn it! Tell me where's my money!" Aro stomped his foot and accidentally shot a round of bullets.

"Aargh!" Someone yelled from the back.

"See! I won't stop until you give me what's mine." Then he addressed the rest of the survivors. "If I don't get back my money at the count of three, I will start shooting. Given that it's dark, I don't know who will fall." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

The group of people around them freaked out. They scattered around screaming, getting Aro angrier.

"Just give me my money!" He yelled and pointed his weapon to Esme, who stood defiantly to his threats.

Aro pressed the trigger, but before any bullet got to Esme, someone within the crowd jumped in front of her. It was James.

"Nooo!" The three of them yelled in unison.

xxx

Suddenly, all the radios beeped.

"Guys! Anyone! Is anyone there?" It was Embry, but his called passed unnoticed between the chaos. Except for one person. Tanya, who was at a reasonable distance from Aro's madness, answered.

"Embry? It's over. I'm sorry nobody contacted you to give you the news..." She was sure everybody forgot he was still at Mrs. Rachel's house at the other side of town.

"No. It isn't over. We saw it. It came from the cave. Something came out from a cocoon."

"What are you talking about?"

"There's a giant moth heading your way!"

xxx

Esme was desperate trying to bring James back to consciousness.

"See, that's what happens when people doesn't comply with my wishes." Aro wasn't bothered at all after shooting James. His worry died when he noticed James was still alive to be replaced with more anger. He was supposed to shoot that damn witch of a wife!

"Shut up! You hurt him! Our son!" Esme cried.

"Meh. He turned out to be a disappointment. Now, where were we? Right, at the count of three, I want my money back!" He yelled to the frightened remaining citizens of Micanopy.

"One..." He yelled while glaring to Esme, his wild hair flowing around his face because of the soft air blowing around.

He shot to the sky again, hoping to bring some fear into Esme. She was still clutching James into her arms but glaring at Aro.

What started as a soft breeze turned into a roaring wind in seconds. A dark cloud was moving fast to where the field was burning.

"Look!", "What's that?" The people around Esme wondered, looking at the sky.

"Aro, watch out!" Someone yelled.

"Bah. That's the oldest trick in the book. Two..."

Tanya was calling whoever was listening to be careful with the moth, but even with Embry's notice, she wasn't prepared for the horror that flying monstrosity represented.

Aro missed the dark shadow floating just right over him. A gigantic moth flapping its wings. It was like a truck with wings!

The moth woke up from the change very hungry. After flying around to stretch its wings, the moth flew to where it sensed light and warmth. It screeched as it came close to the fire to see the burning corpses of its buddies.

"Three!" Aro lifted the machine gun, ready to shoot the crowd when the sound of a screech froze him.

The moth instinctively flew down to the jumpy creature. With its mouth claws and legs, it took Aro and flew up to the sky until it was out of sight. Trying to bit into the squirming body of Aro. The moth got him in a few bites, losing bits of Aro's body in the process.

The people around Esme freaked out.

She was calling for a doctor when a loud thump made her jump.

Aro's head fell just at her feet. A primal scream of terror forever etched on his twisted face.

xxx

"Felix! Demetri! Someone!" Tanya was desperate, trying to get one of the agents to listen. She saw, just like everybody else, how the moth circled the sky around the field. It's wings barely distinguishable in the dark night, if only for the white dots between the sea of dark brown and gray that covered them. They have to find a way to kill it before it ate the whole town!

And Tanya, noticing how they used all the grenades and Molotov cocktails, thought of the only remaining alternative... the rocket launcher.

"Hey, Mrs. New... Tanya!" Edward answered from his post behind the van where Aro stood. He planned, along with Felix, to jump on Aro once Demetri shot him. Obviously, the arrival of the moth changed those plans. "Felix is crawling your way. He's wondering what is left from our arsenal."

"We're going to need your help. The damn rocket launcher is pretty heavy and I heard Felix was injured." Tanya explained, relieved to hear they were coming.

The moth flew really close to the ground, in an effort to see how many of those yummy squirming things were standing around.

Not one minute later, Felix and Demetri were helping Tanya to set the rocket launcher.

"Bring those cases, Edward," Tanya ordered, trying to remember how to assemble the weapon. "Michael got them as a gift. We never thought we would use them." She shook her head.

"These are ancient! Are you sure they work?" Demetri exclaimed.

Edward brought the case, it wasn't heavy at all. Once he opened it he found out why. "Hmm, Tanya. There's only one thing here." He took the elongated missile out of the case. "You know, I always thought these things were bigger."

"Shh! Bring it!" Felix almost slapped the round object from Edward's hand, checking if it fit the weapon in his hands. "These things are delicate. Worst, I think there's only one of them."

"So we only have one shot."

Felix and Demetri nodded.

"We need a distraction, something to bring it closer," Felix stated.

"I'll do it." Emmett offered, still sad about witnessing Rosalie's death. "I think I can raise a hell of a ruckus with that horn." He pulled not only the horn but a lantern too.

"Are you sure?" Edward asked, worried about his friend. "This isn't a suicide mission. As soon as the moth flies down to you, you get under cover. You know what, I'll help you."

"No, no, no. It will be easier if only one of us go. You better help here to aim for the fucker."

Demetri walked to Emmett. "Ok, son. here's the plan. "

xxx

Emmett climbed to the roof of the fire truck.

"Hey, you!"

Waaaank. Waaaank.

He blew the horn, jumped moving the lantern up and down.

The moth noticed him and then flew on a downward spiral, right to where Emmett was jumping... just when the moth was about to reach him, he jumped and rolled under the truck.

"No shot," Felix yelled over the radio. "I don't have a shot!"

"Stupid moth." Emmett cursed from his hiding place.

The moth crossed the dark sky, circling the area, only to dive to the truck again, almost turning it upside-down. Then it flew up again.

This time Demetri was the one aiming the rocket launcher while Edward and Seth helped him.

"I almost got it...I almost got it..."

When the moth took off again, in a straight line up, Demetri got his shot.

He pulled the trigger.

The crowd went silent, watching the missile flying straight to the moth.

Boom!

It reached its goal, making the moth explode in thousand of pieces.

"Everybody run!" Bella screamed over the radio.

"Why?" Tanya wondered.

"We don't know if the moth was toxic!"

But running was futile. The bits and pieces of the moth's wings fell all around, and they were thankful when the body landed in the middle of the field, far from anyone.

Still, Bella took a stick and walked over one chunk of a wing. After poking a few times, it didn't melt the stick. She carefully squat, and slowly reached for the wing. She touched it with the tip of her finger. Nothing happened.

"Hmm, interesting."

And this way, with the death of the giant moth, the crisis of the puss caterpillars ended.

* * *

 **So, what do you think?**

 **In case you were wondering, I didn't forget about Bob ;) There will be an epilogue.**

 **See ya.**


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